Drama of an Online World
by Insane-and-Psycho
Summary: SessKag. Getting past the rocky start to their relationship, what twists and turns will present themselves on and offline?
1. Prologue

He was bored, which lately had not been much of a surprise. It was the same thing over and over. Defeating the lesser demons, slaughtering innocent human villages and pillaging the hordes of great dragons... Such things tended to become second nature after a while.

He knew he was powerful and feared. He knew how the game worked, how the codes were upheld and how those who went against the laws were punished. He also knew that at the rate things were progressing, a new and exciting mission would not be possible.

Which meant that, in turn, he knew he would need to find a new source of entertainment.

What he didn't know, however, was that this new source would be just around the corner...

* * *

She'd been going around the game's many locations for the past seven months, just getting to know the newcomers who seemed to join at a frequent rate. That was really all there was to do, she'd done nearly everything else. For one of her esteemed status at least.

She had defeated several of the strongest demons twice over, she'd rescued damsels and escorted royalty through the treacherous jungles of their country's into the next.

She'd even been to the spirit world a couple times, on orders of course. You couldn't go to the spirit world without either consent or with orders from one of the higher ups. A very forbidden thing to do, especially when your body can be possessed by one of the lesser demons or dark priestesses. Very dangerous, especially so with her body. Trained to kill and destroy, ask questions as when went if any presented themselves.

But she knew all that, she'd been playing this game since it came out, and she couldn't even think remember when that was. Time just seemed to drag on when she wasn't in this world. And that's when you knew you were addicted. Of course, she'd been addicted since she first started playing.

The action, the adventure... So different from the real world.

But now that she had done nearly everything, what else was there for her to do? Was she going to quit, leave the game forever, or until a suitable update could be made? She didn't want to think about that, the last update was... Weak. That's what some of the others had called it, but then, they weren't new to the game either.

She needed a challenge. Something, anything! Someone strong and courageous, preferrably male. Maybe that would alleviate the boredom...

* * *

End of Prologue... . 


	2. The Airship

With a deadly smirk on his face, he brought his wrist down hard and the demon whip spliced through the body of the oncoming demon. 'Another weakling,' he thought.

But the whip didn't go through the body as he'd originally thought; it merely slid along the scales, giving them an unearthly glow.

He narrowed his eyes and snarled, retracting the whip without a second thought. Using his demon speed, he hurled himself into the air, drawing Tokijin once he'd reached the full height. At the sound of the blade being drawn, the demon looked up into the sky to Sesshomaru's silhouette etched into the moon.

He brought the sword down in an arc between the demon's neck and waist, but instead of slicing through the beast, it barely phased the scales. The grinning eyes of the demon met his and with a speed far surpassing his own, a thick tail rushed at his head before he had time to block the onslaught.

His body flew to the ground some distance away at an alarmingly slow rate. Everything around him was fading into darkness, and before he knew it, he was thrust from the dream into reality.

* * *

He woke up to a dull throbbing in his head, whereupon he immediately lifted his hand to inspect that ache for the presence of blood. "Damn it, now I'm dreaming about that damn game," he whispered. "You know you're addicted when… "

He looked at the alarm clock on the bedside table. It read 8:46. 'Way to make an early start to a Saturday.' And with that in mind, he proceeded to get out of bed and turn on his computer. The Dimension headset coming on after he'd thoroughly brushed his hair.

* * *

She had already encountered seven new characters within the first fifteen minutes of gameplay when she decided she needed a change in scenario. 'Way too many people joining this side of the globe nowadays, really need a more secluded location. Trourie just isn't for me.'

Calaven was the new rage in this online dimension, what with the huge bazaars open all hours for business. In the real world, the new features of Calaven were highly advertised. Certainly couldn't go there, that's where all the new characters seemed to flock to.

Felavia was all desert this time of year, damnable dry season. She'd never survive there with the limited amount of supplies a character's able to carry, so she really couldn't go there either. And the Colonies of Genith weren't even available at the moment, completely blocked off by the ice floes. So anyone stuck within the Colonies... They were stuck until the ice melted.

And she couldn't go home... Lunar Cape Island was a steadily industrializing area, both humans and demons working together to make life easier. And somehow she knew deep in her soul, that she really had no place there anymore. She was a warrior, she lived a life of adventure and danger. With peace reigning over her home, there was no adventure to behold anymore.

With the list of available countries diminishing as she checked them off on her fingers, she decided she'd pay a visit to Miriva. The people there were always kind and honourable, still set in their old ways and beliefs. She had always felt at home in that strange place, so different from the modernized Calaven.

She smiled, her destination in mind. "Now to find me an airship!"

* * *

He entered his password and name into the computer and hit Enter. 'What new and exciting adventures shall I get into today? Shall I die as I did in my dream this night past or shall I find the demon interrupting my slumber and mutilate his flesh?' Such were the thoughts tumbling through his mind as his body began to appear on the airship set for his homeland of Miriva.

He rose from the bed, exiting the cabin to determine the location of the airship. The sun had yet to rise, the moon and the stars still bright in the sky. He looked around the deck, almost completely vacant but for a girl sitting beside the railings.

It almost looked as if she were asleep, her eyes closed and her mass of ebony tresses swaying in the breeze. But for the content expression on her face, one would never know she were awake. Her choice of clothing and armour was more of a modern style, bearing a semblance to spiked scale mail. 'She has taste.'

He approached her silently, the idea of startling her out of her reverie extremely appealing. "Girl," he demanded, thorougly disappointed when her only reaction was to open a pair of the most beautiful sapphire eyes he'd ever seen, "what is our current location?"

* * *

'Well isn't he a rude one,' she thought as she opened her eyes. She had been determined to keep a straight face, but that idea was quickly replaced with, 'Wow, now that's what I call eye-candy.'

He had long silver hair and gorgeous amber eyes, two maroon coloured markings on each cheek and a crescent moon on the center of his forehead. 'They don't make 'em like that anymore.' He wore the traditional garb of one from Miriva, pelt, armour, sash... The works.

"It's Kagome, and find out for yourself," not even phased by his rudeness.

His eyes narrowed, and it was quite apparent he was holding himself back from throttling her. "You dare speak to this Sesshomaru in such a manner?"

"Isn't it obvious?" she asked with an innocent lilt to her voice, her eyebrow raised in obvious defiance.

* * *

End of chapter one... Sorry... >.> 


	3. Vertically Challenged

Last time...

* * *

His eyes narrowed, and it was quite apparent he was holding himself back from throttling her. "You dare speak to this Sesshomaru in such a manner?"

"Isn't it obvious?" she asked with an innocent lilt to her voice, her eyebrow raised in obvious defiance.

* * *

He growled, what remained of his self-control quickly diminishing in the presence of such a disrespectful bitch. She appeared to be a warrior, and those who chose such a path in this world often carried high standards and morals. Unless she had a death wish, he could not fathom what would make such a woman act with such frivolousness.

"It would be wise, you insolent wench, if you watched your foul mouth when in the presence of your betters," he warned.

* * *

'Add him to the list of assholes who like to call me a wench,' she thought as she rolled her eyes to the sky.

She might have actually cared that he looked like he was going to murder her if she weren't so worn out from her training session with Sango, demon hunter extraordinaire. She was really quite lucky they'd been cut short by the presence of the ever-perverted pest, Miroku. 'And he calls himself a monk!'

"Wow, someone sure woke up on the wrong side of bed this morning," she joked, giggling at his expense, her gaze drifting out over the clouds. Kagome was thrilled to be on the airship, heading for a place she could call her home if ever she decided to settle down. 'Yeah right,' she thought. 'That'd be like saying Miroku isn't really a pervert.'

"You will mind your tongue, wench, or I shall remove the vile appendage from your mouth!"

"And why should I mind my tongue? What's so special about you? What makes you so worthy of my time and respect?" she asked, slightly miffed at his degredation of her person. Unless he could explain to her just who the Hell he was, sooner or later, she planned on giving him the tongue-lashing he deserved.

* * *

'She does not know of this Sesshomaru? Everyone who is anyone knows of this Sesshomaru,' he pondered, evidently unearthed by her carefree demeanor and significant lack of respect for her superiors. But then, she didn't know who exactly her superiors were apparently.

"This Sesshomaru is the lord of the western provinces of Miriva," he managed calmly, his rage subsiding.

And it came rushing back as she replied with a simple, "Oh."

He narrowed his eyes and demanded, "And who are you to show such blatant disrespect to those so high above your station?"

* * *

She laughed at that, and turned her face to look at him, standing as she did so.

'Lord of the western provinces of Miriva? Oh, but isn't that rich?' And here she was, drooling over him like a naughty fangirl, which perhaps in her own right she was. He was, after all, absolutely drop-dead-gorgeous. Even if he was a total jackass.

'Some lord he is.' But that explained it, he wouldn't get the thorough tongue-lashing she was hoping to give him. But that didn't mean she couldn't taunt him and tease him a little.

She extended her hand to him, fully aware that he wouldn't take it. He was much too good for a lowly hand-shake. "Kagome Higurashi, revered warrior miko slash mercenary at your service," she grinned wickedly before adding, "my lord. And we are crossing the Fuearian Sea."

* * *

The Kagome Higurashi? She who had slain countless demons and participated in just as many battles as he had? Who was said to have defeated the demon Xagashi with but a purification arrow?

He cocked his head and gave her the once-over, looking her over from head to toe.

He'd thought she'd be taller.

* * *

End of chapter two... >.> 


	4. Accidents With Coffee

And here you have chapter three... >.>

* * *

She lay on her bed, reading one of the random magazines she had strewn about her bedside table. After her little run in with the great lord Sesshomaru, she hadn't been had a decent nights sleep. Not that it had been that long ago... A couple hours, really. 

She had to admit though, if only to herself and never to his almighty pain in the ass, he was absolutely hot. She found herself sighing at the memory of silver hair and amber eyes. Those eyes... The way he'd looked at her... She could've sworn he was undressing her with her eyes. Not that she minded. To have such a man gazing upon her body in such a way, well... What girl wouldn't want that?

Even if he was gorgeous, she also had to remind herself of what an arrogant, pompous ass he'd been to her, addressing her as "wench" and "girl" throughout the voyage whenever he caught but a glimpse of her. And he certainly made it his business to find her and make the journey miserable.

What assets he had (his rugged good looks, his title and his power), were brought down drastically by his nasty personality.

Even so, as she put down the magazine and closered her eyes, she secretly hoped she'd have another run-in with her demon dream-toy, Sesshomaru...

* * *

Kagome woke up that morning feeling oddly rested, ready for the new day to begin. Stretching and yawning, she made her way out of bed and into the bathroom. After completing her morning rituals of brushing her hair and teeth, she changed out of her pajamas into sweats and a T-shirt. It was time for her other morning ritual; a walk in the park before breakfast. 

She exited her apartment, locking the door behind her. She was particularly excited this morning, eager to be outside in the fresh morning air. She left the thought to the strange workings of Fate. Whatever was in store for her this morning, she just hoped it'd be a good thing.

* * *

Just as it was every morning, the park was almost completely empty but for a few dog owners and their beloved pets. She loved being in the park in the mornings, when everything was coming alive after a good night's rest. To her, this was how the real world should be all the time. 

Only it wasn't that way. There was smoke and fog and pollution all around in the cities, and sometimes when the air because so thick with the disgusting toxins, you couldn't see the stars until the next rainfall. She missed living in the country, where except during storms, the moon and the stars could be seen year round.

And sometimes, she wished she could leave this world and live in her virtual world. There was no pollution there at all, you could see the stars no matter the circumstance depending on where you were, stormy weather rarely an occurrence. Her online world was always beautiful; flowers in bloom, snow drifting in on a cool Autumn day.

And the people who frequented the game were often friendly and kind, nothing like those of the real world. In the real world, everything was business and money, social standings, military or government power. There were no morals to live by, no codes of honour.

She didn't know how those people survived. She knew from personal experience how harsh and cruel the world could be to a dreamer such as herself, and if she were given the opportunity, she would choose virtual reality over the real world any day.

She sighed and continued down the path, her eyes downcast as she breathed in the sweet scent of the morning air.

* * *

It happened in the blink of an eye. He had looked up from the path a second too late, only to collide with a young woman, spilling his already cold coffee over the both of them in the process. 

"Oh my God, I am so sorry!" she quickly apologized, though really the blame could be placed upon both parties. She wasn't the only one absorbed in thought. "I wasn't paying attention and I zoned out and oh shit, look at your shirt."

"Your apology is completely unnecessary, and the shirt can be washed," he explained. "Yours however, being as white as it is, is an entirely different matter. And how you failed to notice such a thing is completely beyond me."

She looked down at her shirt and her eyes went wide. "Fuck." And with that she raced back the way he'd seen her come.

'An eventful morning to start off a surely uneventful day. Joy.'

* * *

When he returned to his apartment some minutes later, he closed the door and divested himself of his shirt, tossing it in the laundry basket when he reached his bedroom. The closet was brimming with clothing, and he couldn't help but think, 'Hmm, what to wear.' 

(A.N: Can't you just imagine him with his shirt off and his finger against his lip and a confused look on his face?)

It didn't take long for him to pull a T-shirt from the closet and pull it over his head. Once that task was completed, he could go back to the thoughts he'd been thinking before the run-in with... He never had gotten her name, not that it was much of a problem.

The woman on his mind, Kagome Higurashi, she was a problem. She had somehow managed to lodge herself within his thoughts and for the life of him, he could not get her out. At first he'd thought her a disrespectful bitch, but upon closer interrogation he'd found that she had right to question his right to respect. Seeing as she was also one to demand respect to her person.

He had heard of her on several occassions, and the stories he'd been told were from bards of the highest esteem. He'd heard great tales of her beauty, and the lives she'd come to save over the many years she'd been a player in this online world. She was a master roleplayer, competent on the battlefield and held in high regards with the royalty in Trourie, among other places.

But even so, she was anything but a rose, anything but a fragile delicate woman, as such was he accustomed to. He knew nothing of women who wore armour and demanded respect. All he'd known were the women who threw themselves at a man in hopes of being granted access to the bedchambers, those who fawn over a man and grant him his every desire.

And she was different. Somehow, she was much more than all those he'd met before her.

After he'd pondered her for some time, he decided he should like to never see her again, to be rid of this thorny many called Lady. 'Good riddance to the wench. May she trouble some other man's life and stay away from mine.'

* * *

End of chapter three... >.> 


	5. Not Much To Remember

She yawned as her body began to appear in the Inn of Four Souls. She jumped up and down, excited to no end to have finally arrived in Miriva. She looked around her room, all her belongings in the order she liked them. 'Thank God for preferences,' she thought, falling back onto her bed and laughing.

After much consideration, she finally decided to get off her butt and go explore the area, see if any updates had been made to any of the towns and villages. If there weren't, well, she could always help the people out a bit or go for a walk in the forest and kick some demon ass. Not like she hadn't every now and again, anyways.

She extricated herself from her most comfortable bed and wandered to her closet, opening the cedar doors to view her wares. 'What to take with me,' she pondered, not quite knowing what to expect from the day.

From a glance out the window, any normal person would care to take an umbrella. She just didn't happen to be normal.

Kagome chose to adorn herself in what she always wore; spiked scale mail and a flowing black robe. She equipped enough Shuriken for three people, her katana, a long bow and quiver of arrows. With a dramatic sigh, she decided to leave the throwing daggers for another day.

"And what shall I set my music preferences to today?" she questioned as she opened up the menu screen from her headset. "Something with a beat, perhaps... There's just something to be said about graceful movement. Could go with rock, that's always great when you're in the mood for destruction... "

In the end, she settled with a variety of bands and singers from all genre's of music. If it really came down to it, she could skip a few songs to get to what she really wanted. Not that it mattered.

* * *

After finishing the paperwork for the day, he rose from the mahogany desk and walked to the balcony. He could see literally everything, his castle being on the fringes of the western provinces and his demon sight being much of an asset. If there was so much as a disturbance on his lands, he would be one of the first to know about it. But when the sky is full of clouds and the weather damp and drizzling, a disturbance was the least of his worries.

His half-brother was scheduled to barge into the palace at any given time for a rematch, something he had done every other day for... He wasn't quite certain how long it had been since the "tradition" had begun. All he really knew was that today was one of those days.

He had the usual scheme of events jogged in one area of his memory library, not that there was a lot to remember about sparring with InuYasha.

First, the half-demon would barge into his study demanding a rematch, "Gimme a fuckin' rematch, ya bastard!", which would immediately be proceeded by the walk to the training facilities. InuYasha would charge, and he would dodge. This would go on until the half-demon became more sloppy than usual, and swords would be drawn. Tetsusaiga and Tokijin would battle it out, and eventually InuYasha would be thrown from the palace dojo onto his ass.

Again: Not much to remember.

The northern prince was expected to bring in the land agreements and alliance papers. But that had been yesterday, and he'd never shown up. "Damnable wolf demon," he grumbled, "always late." After all the trouble they'd gone to to bring forth this alliance and of course, Kouga would be late.

And Rin had yet to arrive, almost late for her afternoon lessons. She had proven to be exceptionally bright at what he thought to be a young age, she being only eleven.

His thoughts were halted when his servant, Jaken, bounded into the room, tripping over his own feet. "Mi'lord, mi'lord! You must come quickly! There is a woman in the Kuroni forest slaughtering innocent demons!"

'Innocent? Demons? Well isn't that an oxymoron.' His eyes scanned over the forest, narrowing when he saw a fading light emanating from the area. "When Rin arrives, be sure she makes her way to her tutor. If Kouga decides to make his appearance this afternoon, have him meet me in the study."

He smirked as he abandoned the cowering toad, InuYasha would just have to wait. 'So much for no disturbances.'

* * *

End of chapter four... >.>

Oh my goodness, chapter four is finished.


	6. Taming The Beast

I'd tell you I'm sorry for the way I ended the last chapter... But I'm really not. .

But here's chapter five for you... Enjoy!

* * *

She knelt before one of the snake demons she'd slain and ripped the arrow from its flesh. Once she'd aquired all her arrows, she looked down at herself.

"Oh sick, snake guts."

She had to hope against all hope there might be a stream nearby, anything to wash the gunk off her armour. She pulled the map fom her satchel and unfurled it, determining her location and a small river a few miles west.

Kagome set off dancing at an even pace in the direction the river was supposed to be.

* * *

When he arrived at the site of battle, the bodies of the snakes were decaying at a steady rate and there was no sign of the one who'd defeated them. He lifted his nose to the winds, the scent of sakura blossoms and jasmine strong on the air, the underlying scent of power and purification radiating from the area.

Sesshomaru determined the direction of where the scent was coming from and followed it, only slightly aware that he was also fallowing a set of footprints. He was greatly looking forward to meeting the bearer of such a powerful scent, even if it was a woman.

* * *

After checking the area for intrudors and removing her armour and most of her clothes, she slipped into the cool water, carrying the spiked scale with her. She knelt a small distance in and began scrubbing the snakes insides from her armour.

"Fucking disgusting snakes," she complained. For all her efforts, the excements were really stuck. She rose from her place in the water, leaving her armour there, to walk to her bag. She filtered through the contents; sock, book, sock number two, band-aids... "Aha!" she declared triumphantly as she pulled forth what she was looking for. "Armour polish."

Kagome made her way back to her armour with the polish and a washcloth, determined to have it shine the way it did before the snakes decided to spray their insides all over her. She opened the top of the bottle and emptied some of the contents onto the cloth, dipping it in the water before lathering it over the chestplate.

"And at last we meet," a familiar voice sounded from behind her. She jolted around onto her feet, nearly dropping the armour polish and soapy washcloth. She was caught completely off guard, and by the one person she'd never truly expected to come into contact with again.

"You!" she exclaimed. When she saw the shock in his eyes replaced by that trademark smirk, she came back to virtual reality and her eyes widened as she realized she was wearing only her underwear. She threw the armour polish at his head and crossed her arms over her breasts before screaming, "Fucking pervert!"

* * *

If he hadn't been so thorougly amused with the wench, he might have pretended he wasn't pleased with the appearance of her body. As it were, for a human she was flawless. He had to resist the urge to find out of her skin was as silky as it looked, and though she tried to hide her breasts, he knew they'd fit perfectly in the palms of his hands.

"I assure you I am no pervert, I am here on business," he calmly replied.

"And it's your business to rape me with your eyes?" she demanded. Her modesty was most unbecoming. With a body like that, a woman could go far should she choose to flaunt it for the right male. "And would you fucking turn around already?"

He chose to ignore the rape remark, but he turned around as she desired. "I assume you are the woman who defeated the snake demons," he stated, wondering about the sanity of such a foul-mouthed wench.

* * *

She knelt in the water again, hurrying to clean her armour. "What the fuck of it?"

"I am lord here, bitch, it is my duty to see to what is being done on my lands."

She looked up at his back, her eyes narrowed and a deadly expression on her face. "I have a name, asshole," she ground out, frustrated beyond belief. "It's Kagome. Remember? Ka-go-me." Shen went back to scrubbing her armour, the polish working most effectively. "What do I have to do," she complained to herself, "write it on his forehead in bold permanent marker?"

"I heard that," he called back at her.

"Stupid demon hearing," she grumbled as the last of the snake slime came free of her scale mail. She rushed out of the water to her clothes, quickly yanking on her leggings and undershirt. "I'm decent," she said, yawning as she did so before pulling her armour over her body and clasping it in place.

* * *

When he turned around she had just finished readorning herself in her armour and was making herself ready to put on her mantle. The songs from the old bards drifted back to him, tales of a beautiful warrior of the Higurashi line. It was hard to believe this slip of a girl could be the one they sang about, but what difference did it make either way?

He turned his attention back to the reason he had come searching for her. "Why did you slaughter those demons?"

She shrugged her shoulders, looking herself over. "They were raiding the eastern villages. Somebody had to do it."

"And you decided to nominate yourself for the position?"

She shook her head, no, then reached down and grabbed her bag.

"Then what?" he demanded, growing impatient with the indifference she displayed towards him.

"The villagers asked me to. They're all so dreadfully afraid of the great lord Sesshomaru they had to get a foreigner to do the job for them." For some reason she found that quite humorous and laughed.

"And just what is so funny, bitch?" He was determined that he wouldn't murder her, but the way she was testing his patience... She'd be lucky if she lived the next few minutes.

* * *

She approached him, stopping when she was a few feet in front of him. She was completely amazed with herself. She could tell he was extremely angry, and yet she couldn't seem to make herself stop.

She grinned at him. "They don't even live here and they fear you. Don't see why though." She took this time to give him the once-over he'd given her when he arrived. She moved even closer to him, her right hand coming up to rest on his chest. "You're not that scary. Just a big fluffy puppy waiting for someone to pet him."

If she were anyone else, she might have been afraid when she saw the red seeping into his eyes. But she wasn't anyone else, she was Kagome Higurashi. And she wasn't afraid of anything.

She began the log-out sequence and lifted her other hand up to his pointed ear, softly rubbing the back of his earlobe. She smiled when she felt him purring, and, holding onto the back of his neck, she pulled his face down to hers and kissed him softly on the mouth.

Before she faded from virtual reality, she whispered into his ear, "I'll be around if you ever want someone to pet you, Fluffy."

* * *

End of chapter five... >.> 


	7. Just A Little Elevator Difficulty

Chapter six... Sorry for the delay...

* * *

After last night's embarrassment, she was feeling particularly female. She still couldn't believe she'd actually kissed Sesshomaru and she couldn't stop thinking about the way his lips felt, even if he hadn't kissed her back. She'd skipped her morning walk for the first time in four years just to daydream about him a little longer.

She sighed, remembering the way his eyes began to bleed and how she'd seemingly soothed him. 'Wow,' she thought, and lifted her fingers to touch her lips for about the millionth, her face blushing hotly at the memory.

Kagome had thought about going online, but she was worried about facing him again - which she most certainly would do. She was particularly worried about what he might say or do... She'd been rejected and turned down before. Most men found her rather intimidating.

Turning over on her back, she looked up at her ceiling full of glow-in-the-dark stars. They reminded her of his eyes; the tiny flecks of light and blood when he'd become angry with her. He was so gorgeous when he was completely lacking self-control. It made him appear to be more... Real. Feasible. Like... He was attainable.

Maybe never to her, but was it her fault she just happened to be a very interested female?

But what could she do to impress him...

She looked over at her alarm clock and her eyes grew wide as she thought, 'Get the fuck to work for one thing!'

* * *

Somehow she had managed to look half-decent and arrive at the office only fifteen minutes late. But she was one of the more popular contracting designers, what would it matter if she were fifteen minutes late? And at any rate, she'd had no clients for a while, so she really had nothing important to do.

Kagome left her briefcase on her desk in her office and sauntered down the hall to the staff room. To her joy, a pot of coffee had already been made. She grabbed a mug from one of the cupboards and filled it with coffee, overloading it with sugar as she normally did with a little bit of cream.

'Ahh, the energy drink of the Gods.'

She walked carefully back to her office and sat down in the chair and flicked on her answering machine.

"You have two new messages. First message."

And it was Kouga. "Kagome, please call me back, I really wanna talk to you about..." She mimicked his talking with her hands. 'Blah blah blah... '

"To erase this message, press-" The recording was promply cut off with Kagome pressing the seven. "Next new message."

A new voice floated through the air, sounded sexy. Something about offering her a contract... She sipped her coffee and nearly spit it out when she thought, 'Wait a minute... ' At the sound of the recording ending, she pressed eight to replay the message.

"Miss Kaye, I am a representative of Full Circle Industries. Through a number of colleages, it has been brought to my attention that you are one of the finest graphics and interior designers in the field. I am willing to offer you a contract to design the logo and future layout for my company... "

And that was good enough for her. She finished off her coffee and left her office in an excited rush.

* * *

After making his way past one of the stray women blocking his path, he proceeded towards the elevators and pressed the suitable button. The doors opened and he stepped inside.

Somehow without his noticing, a small female rushed inside. Smiling at him, she said, "Top floor, please."

He complied with her request and waited for the elevator to rise. He set his briefcase on the floor and prepared himself for the journey to his floor. He'd been required to take an elevator for six years, it was nothing out of the ordinary, so he allowed his mind to delve into other important matters.

That girl... Kagome. She was becoming a serious problem. First she had dared to insult him, calling him a puppy no less, and then she had... Kissed him, petted him. If he were alone in the elevator he might have felt his lips. Never in all his years had he met a woman like her. She disturbed him, set his inner balance completely off course in such a manner, he was beginning to lose his mind.

The memory of how her lips had felt in the virtual reality calmed him, confused him. He should have been enfuriated to no end by such actions, he should have killed her when he'd had the chance. She deserved to be punished for what she had done.

'What she deserves is-' his thought was cut off when the elevator jolted roughly to a stop and the lights flicked off, the emergency lights blinking twice before stopping.

"What the fuck?" the woman beside him demanded, her smile dissipating into a scowl.

* * *

An excessively perky voice came from over the intercom, "We seem to be experiencing a slight glitch in the powers system. We have technicians already on the way and the problem should be fixed within the hour. Thank you."

Kagome was quite tempted to attempt to kick down the elevator doors, but decided against it. "Of all the fucking days, today just had to go and bite my ass."

* * *

Fifteen minutes had passed since the girl had decided to pace around the tiny space, and he was getting quite annoyed. She was invading his personal bubble and he didn't like it at all.

"Cease your pacing, bitch," he ground out. That stopped her.

"Who the fuck do you think you're calling a bitch?"

"Is there anyone else in this elevator I might be speaking to?" And that shut her up.

* * *

'Fucking jackass!' she thought, glaring murderously at him. She found she had an extremely low tolerance for people like him when she was having a bad day. And today had definitely become one of those. "Of all the people to be stuck in an elevator with, it just had to be you."

"The feeling is mutual."

Kagome tapped her heel against the floor and put her hands on her hips. "Just what the fuck is your problem?"

"Insignificant bitches such as yourself."

'Oh, he wants to play that way, does he?' she questioned. Well if he was going to be an asshole, she'd show him just how much of a bitch she could be. He didn't want her to pace, she wouldn't. She'd do everything else she could think of to make his morning a living Hell.

Upon thinking that thought, she began to make a mental list of all the things she could do.

* * *

She was whistling again. The never-ending song. The one he'd been forced to listen to when the elementary school had taken a field trip to his office.

If she wasn't whistling, she was on her cellphone. Talking to her girlfriends about what she was wearing, or how fat her ass looked in her jeans. Or how "she was trapped in this elevator with this particularly big asshole from Hell."

If she wasn't on her cellphone, she was talking to herself. Wondering when the technicians would arrive and fix the fucking elevator (something he'd been questioning quite frequently when he wasn't attempting to keep his hands from around her neck).

If she wasn't talking to herself, she was replying to herself! "Oh hunnie, they'll be here soon. And then you'll never have to put up with that monster ever again." And it wouldn't stop. She'd just continue on as if it were perfectly normal!

And if she wasn't replying to herself, she was ignoring him. Ignoring him. Of all things a woman could do! She was ignoring the Sesshomaru Zetsumei, president of Full Circle Industries! 'How fucking dare she!'

"Bitch, would you shut the fuck up?" he shouted at her, amazed at the power of his own voice.

"Whatever for?" she asked him, so innocently his eye twitched.

"Because if you don't shut your fucking mouth I am going to rip your tongue from your throat!"

* * *

She rolled her eyes at him, secretly quite glad he'd finally caved. She didn't know how much more of the song-that-never-ends she could take. "Fuck, why the women flock to your bed is a question I'd like answered."

She had to supress the smile with a feigned frown when he opened his mouth to reply. She cut him off before he could say anything. "You're such an arrogant, stuck-up bastard!" she yelled at him. "How a woman could ever respect herself for being attracted to someone like you is totally beyond me!"

"And why men seem to drape themselves over your disgusting body is something I'd appreciate being informed of," he shot back at her. "How any man would put up with your volatile tongue and foul mouth... Most assuredly they must find you worthy in bed."

Her eyes widened at his implications, and just as she was about to slap him, the lights flickered on and the elevator shook and climbed upwards to the closest floor. The doors opened and she stormed out of the elevator to find herself a more suitable companion.

* * *

'The nerve of some women,' he thought as he slammed his door and approached the window. 'Two in not twenty-four hours.'

His elevator experience of the morning was serving to fuel the remaining anger from his encounter with the warrior bitch, Kagome. 'And may she rot in Hell,' he thought, a vicious scowl on his face.

He glared at the papers on his desk and listened to the messages on his answering machine. Of the eleven messages, three were from business partners and other such associates of a higher class society. The remaining eight were from... Women.

'Always with fucking women,' he cursed, deleting the messages one after the other.

A knock at his door interrupted his thought, and at the sound of his annoyed voice, his secretary stepped in. "Mr. Zetsumei, there's a young lady here to see you... " she said in a rather high voice before she continued, "She doesn't seem to have an appointment."

His eyes lifted at that and he glared at her, "Once you have finished your molestation of my person with those detestable things you call eyes, would you give me her name?"

"She didn't give her full name, sir, only her initial. K. Shall I send her in?"

He nodded and set his paperwork aside, ready to put his foul mood and morning encounter out of his mind. 'Finally.'

* * *

She stepped into the office, fully prepared to disguise her miffed attitude with cheery smiles. All that changed when the man at the desk looked up at her.

"Oh, just my fucking luck."

* * *

End of chapter six... >.>

The elevator scene was quite a difficult process...

But I wanted them to hate each other... It couldn't be helped.

And... I'm very sorry if it doesn't make sense. I was writing it kind of wonky and out of order.


	8. To Take The Job

Note to all readers who want to read this...

I got a very good question thing from a reviewer I just thought I'd address before the start of the chapter. I'm also very sorry for the delay... I would've had this chapter in last night but me and a friend of mine had a girls night. So... Here it is.

"Kinda confused as to whether or not their appearances remain the same in that virtual world from the real world."

Their appearances don't stay the same. In the virtual world, their appearances are how they wish they looked, how they would look if they could. Some of the physical traits are there by default, depending on the species they chose to take when they first entered the game, but most of them are by their own choosing. They both look quite a bit like how they look in the real world, but there are some differences.

For instance, in the real world Sesshomaru has short-ish black hair and his eyes are so brown they appear black. He has no markings to distinguish himself and he dresses as anyone in the business world would; suits and ties and all that jazz. Kagome has shoulder-length black hair and brown eyes. She's actually taller in the real world than she is in the virtual reality. She's shorter online because of an average based on the height of females in the real world.

And so yeah. I hope that kind of clears it up and whatnot.

Chapter seven...

* * *

And it just had to be her. What idle God had cursed him so? After such an embarrassing scene in the elevator, and she just had to be the designer he so badly needed. 'Like she's even going to consider the contract now,' he thought, his temper further enraging him at the thought of having to somehow convince the stubborn wench to accept the contract.

"Miss Kaye, I presume?" he inquired, forcing his voice to remain steady and even. He was quite embarrassed about their morning encounter, and as hard as he tried he couldn't seem to put it as far from his mind as he wanted.

* * *

"Yes, actually. And I suppose you're Mr. Zetsumei," she demanded incredulously, her firsts clenching and unclenching as she willed herself to remain calm.

"I am," was his reply. "And regardless of our mishap this morning, I would, for some reason completely unknown to myself, like to introduce you to the contract I suggested over the telephone."

"And why the fuck would you do that?" she asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Whether you noticed or not, this building is in dire need of renovations, and as of yet, a suitable logo has not been created."

"Oh yes, even after the morning fucking mishap after, you still want to hire me to design your building?" She raised an eyebrow and continued, "Is this how you sign on all your employees? Degrade them first?"

* * *

'Ungrateful bitch,' he thought, his eyes no more than narrow slits.

"This is the first time any such occurrence has taken place, I can assure you. Were I aware it was you I was engaged with in the elevator, I would have offered the contract then and there."

"So you're that bitchy to everyone you don't know?"

He rose to his feet, his patience waning, and pointed at the chair across from his desk. "Sit." When she didn't move to obey him, he ordered, "Now."

He would make her listen to his proposal, and if she didn't… She would suffer the fucking consequences. He'd put up with enough of her attitude to last an entire lifetime and he'd no desire to suffer through any more of her than was necessary.

* * *

She moved to comply with His Mighty Pan-in-the-Ass' wishes, desire only to slap his face and leave him stunned in his place. She sat in the chair he'd pointed to, crossed her legs and gave him all the time he needed to blab his fucking face off.

On one hand, she really hoped he'd do just that. But on the other…

'Such a waste of a perfectly good man,' she thought. He was kind of pretty for being such a jackass. She was almost tempted to take the contract just for the challenge of breaking him of his obviously nasty disposition.

'It'd be fun... But what would it take to crack a code that encrypted?'

* * *

He quickly assessed the situation. He had two options, either he could convince her to work for him, or he could force her to. And since he hadn't exactly pegged her for the submissive type, he'd have to settle for convincing her.

"By the state of this office, one would hope you have come to understand the desperate need this building is in for rennovations." He paused, not quite certain what the best route would be to ensure her cooperation. "I have heard your name passed amongst associates of mine many times before, and have witnessed first-hand an assortment of the finished products. What I saw was more than adequate."

Her eyes rolled again, and he noted that she seemed to do that a lot when she was annoyed. He guessed she was not one for flattery and he wished he'd known that before.

"Should you choose to accept the contract, you will be given the freedom you need to get the job finished. Within reason," he really could not stress that enough. "There is to be no pink anywhere in the design."

"Oh, the Almighty One doesn't like pink? And here I was thinking we'd paint the walls pink and have the windows tinted to match."

* * *

She laughed at the look on his face when she said that. 'Obviously someone doesn't know sarcasm when it slaps him across the face,' she thought as she nearly fell out of her chair from laughing so hard.

"And just what is so funny?" The look on his face was so hilarious she couldn't stop laughing.

"I was... Kidding... " she managed to choke out between breaths.

"Do not presume to joke about something so significant. Pink will not be used in any of the design plans."

She lifted her hand to her mouth and giggled behind it. "I know. I never use pink. Hate the fuckin' color."

His eyes narrowed on her, he obviously didn't have much of a sense of humor. "And yet you would presume to think it funny to joke about something like that?"

"If you had taken the time to look into anything I've done in the past, you would see that in not one of those designs is the color pink." She uncrossed and stretched her legs before standing up. "Therefore, you would've known not to put in that the use of pink is not allowed."

"Regardless of that, will you be taking on the task, or need I find a more... Suitable designer?" he asked her, very nearly earning a slap from her almighty hand.

"I'll be taking the fucking contract," she snapped at him before turning to leave. "I assume you'll have the contract drawn up in the next few days. Contact me then."

"I'll do just that," he said in that cocky voice he liked to use. The one that made her want to punch him. Or throw him in front of a bus. Or a semi. Either one would work for this particular occasion.

She muttered, "Jackass," under her breath before walking out the door.

* * *

Jaken came rushing into his study with his arms flailing all over the place. "Mi'lord, mi'lord, that woman is back again! She has already killed several bat demons and they seem to be flocking to her!"

He closed his book and looked at the retainer. "I shall see to it, Jaken. Leave."

He walked to the window, looking for the familiar evanescent light radiating from the Kuroni forest. 'That place again? She must be anxious to see me,' he thought with a smirk on his face. 'I shall not disappoint her.'

* * *

She was wearing a particularly happy smile for one so exhausted. She'd killed at least seven bat demons, and at the rate they were coming, she was going to kill a tribe of them before they got the hint and left her alone. They kept coming, she kept killing. Vicious cycle, really.

And then all of a sudden, they just kind of high-tailed it. She looked all around her, and when she spotted Sesshomaru, her smile reached her eyes and her face lit up. Fireworks were amazing.

She really couldn't help herself. She ran over to him and practically threw herself on him, wrapping her arms around his waist, smiling like a giddy little schoolgirl. She looked up into his confused eyes and asked, "So, how was your day?"

* * *

End of chapter seven... . 


	9. Drastic Measures To Rid Myself Of You

Chapter eight! . Back to the regular scheme of writing and updating…!

* * *

"So, how was your day?" she had asked, her arms wrapped around him. He imagined he looked terrified to her, and such was his right. He was confused out of his mind. For the life of him, he didn't know what she was doing.

'She's so like Rin… Do they know each other in the real world?' he questioned himself, even though that was a thought he didn't want answered. All he needed was two of them together. 'Joy.'

"My day was satisfactory, as is any other day… Now would you please remove your arms from my person before I remove them for you?"

* * *

He couldn't seem to be rid of her since she'd jumped on him and it was beginning to annoy him. He was accustomed to peace, quiet… And she was disrupting his life. No matter how enjoyable he found it to be. Secretly, that is. Never would he admit he was actually quite fond of the distraction.

But either she was so bored she simply felt the need to follow him, or she wanted something of him. Tossing a glance back at her, he guessed she was bored. Or happy. Or both.

She was twisting and turning, swaying back and forth, dancing to whatever music she'd set her preferences to. She never stopped, always kept moving. The moonlight poured over her body, casting an almost ethereal glow about her already gorgeous body.

'Damnit, I did not just think that,' he thought, shaking his head of all such vile thoughts, replacing them with new ones.

'Dancing about like an imbecile... How utterly ridiculous.' If only he could convince himself he really believed it.

* * *

She almost burst into laughter when he looked back at her, the look on his face almost telling a story of its own. Amazing facial expression, really.

And he was absolutely teeming with them! You had to be around him long enough to see them all, but they truly did exist. She loved seeing them… The way his eyes seemed to smile or frown all on their own, even when his mouth remained that thin line.

Kagome had been following him for quite some time to her enjoyment. She was really beginning to like how he became annoyed with her, how he'd stop and look at her and ask, "Is this really necessary?" And she'd just smile and nod like everything was normal.

The last time he'd stopped, he'd asked if she wanted to be throttled. She had kindly admitted that, "No, I do not want to be throttled, but I'm going to follow you anyways." And he gave her that bewildered look and gave up.

Quite adorable, really.

* * *

'Can't let her follow me to the palace,' he thought over and over again, the corruption of Rin the only thing on his mind. She was only eleven and she could be very impressionable at times. 'Where am I supposed to go? Damnable woman!'

He was ruing the day he'd ever met her, interrupted her thought on the airship… Made the mistake of checking into the disruptions in the Kuroni forest. Honestly, she was almost as annoying as his new designer. And she hadn't even begun working for him yet!

He sighed as he decided simply to abandon his course and sit somewhere in the God-forsaken forest. If he had nowhere else to go… Nowhere else to be… He might as well enjoy the scenery, even if it did happen to be with poor company.

After some time walking, he found a suitable place to lounge about at the base of a mountain some distance from his palace. He settled himself beneath a particularly large cedar tree.

If he couldn't be rid of her by simply allowing her time and space to do so on her own… He would wait her out. And damnit she would leave!

* * *

She was a little confused when he stopped and sat down, but she didn't mind overmuch. She'd been meaning to ask for a break anyways. His stopping just made it easier on her. She didn't have to worry about him snapping at her for anything else.

She sat beside him and asked, "How do you stay occupied all day?"

His reply came without hesitation. "Land treaties, forming alliances, seeing to disturbances... "

When he mentioned that last little bit about seeing to disturbances, she got the distinct feeling he was referring to her. Probably was. For some reason, that thought made her smile.

* * *

'Why is she smiling at me?' he thought, thoroughly confused yet again by her strange ways.

He always found himself wondering about her, and he really didn't know why. There was really nothing overly special about her. Sure her eyes sparkled like sapphires and her skin looked so soft he ached to touch her and her lips looked so kissable and her hair looked almost as if it were a waterfall, silky smooth strands falling around her face...

He had to resist the strong urge to touch her, to pull her into his arms and ravish her lips... He shook his head to clear his mind. 'Must not think these thoughts!'

When she looked at him with that worried look on her face and asked, "What's wrong?" he grabbed her hand and hauled her over onto his lap, laughing when she squeaked at the sudden motion. She was looking down into his eyes, flushed from her shoulders up.

She was attempting to ask a question when his hand cupped the back of her neck and pulled her mouth down to his.

* * *

End of chapter eight... >.> 


	10. A Kiss To Break Her Heart

Chapter nine! I suck… >.>

* * *

He wasn't sure whether to be more surprised simply that he'd kissed her, or that she'd kissed him back without hesitation. Actually, he really wasn't all that surprised… After all, hadn't she kissed him before? Granted it was once, and she had been teasing him.

She had teased him then just as her body seemed to be doing at that moment. Her music was still playing, and though he couldn't hear it, he could feel the way her body reacted to the beat.

Her hips were bucking and her lower body was grinding quite pleasantly against his. With her hands and her mouth dancing upon his heated flesh, it was becoming a task to restrain himself from throwing her to the ground and taking her in virtual reality.

He didn't even know if that was a possibility, but before he could find out, he pushed her off him and raced to his palace.

Once he was in the safety of his own apartment in the real world, he leapt as fast as he could to the shower, trying desperately to stop the thoughts flowing through his mind. He turned the cold-water tap to about half and when he'd divested himself of his clothing, he stepped inside; welcoming the cold that somewhat helped rid him of his desire for Kagome…

* * *

She logged out and climbed into her bed, her body aching all over with desire. And oh, how she wanted him. Her body seemed to be burning a thousand degrees hotter than normal, and she would have accepted it had he not pushed her away.

She hadn't hurt herself physically when he pushed her, but… There was emotional pain. He'd flat-out rejected her, and after he'd kissed her!

'Great way to reject a girl, too,' she thought to herself, attempting to blink away her tears. 'Get her all hot and bothered and leave her hanging.'

She whimpered as she pulled her blankets all around her, and she felt the strong need to be comforted. But who to turn to for comfort, when the one she wanted it from… Didn't want her?

* * *

The contracts had been signed and she was in the process of questioning Zetsumei about the general use of the office and his color preferences and other such random questions. Hundreds of thousands of millions of questions! Most of them things she wanted to know about him… But still. She could tell he was getting annoyed.

And oh, how she loved it. Really, he was so easy to tease. He should expect such from her.

"And your color choice for furniture? Would you like everything to match?" she asked calmly as she looked up from her notes. She actually hadn't written down much, merely pretended to do so. She didn't want to get caught, now, did she? He'd be very angry if he did.

"I gave you control of such miniscule details, Kaye," was his reply to almost everything, and to those questions, the answer wasn't any different.

"Yeah, and what happens if you don't like the damn design? What am I supposed to do then?" she asked, not really needing to feign annoyance. She really was getting annoyed. If he'd just answer her questions to her satisfaction, she could maybe leave him alone and get some work finished.

"I am ninety per cent positive I will appreciate any design you come up with." Evasive answers. All the time.

"Damnit, what if you don't?"

* * *

He raised his eyebrow at her and smirked as he said, "Then I suppose you'll have to redo the design." He allowed her time to cool her anger and keep it in check. "Now, if there is nothing else, I believe you have work to do and so do I."

He saw her eyes were narrowing at him and her hands were on her hips when she stood up from her chair. "You're a real asshole, you know that?"

"But of course. I know everything." The look on her face was absolutely priceless. The emotions flitted across her face, starting with shock and ending in a scowl that suggested extreme anger. He really wished he had a camera to catch each of the phases she seemed to go through.

She bowed to him, more of a curtsy, really. "Of course, your fucking highness." And with that said, she stormed out of the room and slammed the door shut just as Sesshomaru burst into laughter.

* * *

She was really tempted to use pink in every room of the design. Very tempted. But she knew she'd get in trouble and she'd be fired and she'd probably never find work anywhere ever again if she did that. And she just so happened to really like her job.

She sighed and set herself up in the lounge of the building. She was sitting on a very comfortable loveseat, her knees drawn up with her sketchbook resting on them.

She wanted this design to be perfect, to suit Zetsumei perfectly. It had to reflect his inner personality. All sides. She sighed again, thinking, 'He's annoying, and very masculine. Very proud and cocky. He's quite quick to anger.' Somehow she had to incorporate that into the design.

Try as she might, she couldn't concentrate. Thoughts of Sesshomaru managed to plow through her mind and distract her from her duty. She really wished he hadn't stopped kissing her... But he had. She didn't know why, and she wasn't sure she wanted to.

Kagome sighed again and set to work with the design. Rough lines appeared on the paper in front of her, some in different colors as she thought. This would be the first idea of many. And the idea she chose had to be perfect.

* * *

He watched her work in the lounge for almost an hour. She looked perfect there, her hair all around her and her eyes set in concentration. Every now and again, she'd lift her pencil and nibble on her lower lip, deciding what to do next.

He watched as she threw design after design into the trashcan behind her. He made a mental note that he'd have to go through those designs, try to understand her a little better. It was always best to know who you worked with... Especially in such circumstances. He didn't want their relationship to get any worse than what it had started as. She might think otherwise... But he could actually tolerate her.

She wasn't half-bad when she wasn't talking or trying to be annoying. She was actually kind of... Pretty. When the light decided to shine down on her a certain way she looked absolutely gorgeous. Her skin so pale and her hair so black and glossy.

He couldn't go into those things. He was sort of involved with another woman, and even that relationship was questionable. Twice they had kissed... But when he'd kissed her, he'd pushed her away. He didn't know what she thought of that, and for all he knew, she could be as pissed off about that as she seemed to be about many other things.

When he checked his watch, he decided he'd put his thoughts far from his mind and leave the office for the day. 'Very wise decision.'

* * *

After he got home, he checked his answering machine for messages. As they came floating past him, he deleted them. All of them. All twenty-three of them. Why wouldn't he? They were all from annoying females with no lives. Something he was quite accustomed to.

He logged in to virtual reality and waited patiently for his body to appear in the bedchambers of his palace. He wasn't looking forward to meeting Kagome after the encounter the previous night... But he'd thought of little else but her all that day.

He couldn't seem to put her out of his mind... No matter how hard he might try.

* * *

End of chapter nine... >.>

It's weird. Hehehe, but I like it. .


	11. Waiting And Waiting, Why Won't You Show?

Yes! Chapter ten! I think it's going to be full of fluffy and kind of sexual contenty... Not too much I think 'cause I donno if I'll write anything like that in this story... Or really in any story...

But... I'm warning you now. Fluffy sexual contenty stuff! >.>

* * *

She hadn't been online. He waited for her until 3:00 A.M before he decided it would be a smart choice to go to sleep. But he couldn't stop thinking about her, worrying about her... He turned off the headset and slid under the blankets.

'Who knew you could think about someone so much in a day?'

* * *

She rushed to greet him, throwing herself on him and wrapping her arms around him. "I missed you, Fluffy," she whispered into his ear as she nuzzled his neck. "You were gone so long and I worried so much."

He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her body closer to his, smiling at the secret nickname. "I told you not to call me that, Kagome."

She giggled at him and kissed his along his jawline. "You said I could call you Fluffy when we're alone, just not when there's people around." Her hands slid down his back and gently touched the base of his tail, his body jerking against hers in immediate response. He had to stifle a groan when her hands began to pet him.

He scooped her legs up and carried her to his bedroom, pushing the doors open with his back. His lips touched hers in a soft kiss as he carried her to the bed and laid her down on the silky sheets. He crawled very slowly up her body, his mouth travelling down her neck with feathery kisses.

His hands caressed her through her robe before untying it. His mouth continued its downward journey to her shoulders, collar bone, and down the valley of her breasts. When he heard her whimper, he very nearly lost control of himself. So sweet and innocent she sounded, and he was desperate for more.

He pushed her robe a little further to the side and unclasped the front of her bra and moved it slowly to either side of her breasts. His eyes travelled down the exposed skin and up to her eyes.

When she blushed, and made to cover herself, he placed a hand over hers and whispered, "Do not hide yourself from me. You are perfect." She allowed her hands to be moved down again, though they didn't remain there long.

He dipped his head and tentatively flicked his tongue over her nipple, earning a soft gasp from the pretty little thing beneath him. Her hands lifted from the bed to his shoulders, and at each flick of his tongue against her sensitive skin, her fingers would dig into his skin.

"Sesshomaru..." she moaned, her back arching against him. "... Please..."

He liked to see her this way. Before she wanted to touch him, before she wanted to play with him. Pay him back. He liked seeing her submissive, so utterly feminine that it was terrifying. He liked seeing her writhing beneath him, whimpering for more. Begging and pleading for him to keep going, to complete her...

* * *

(I can imagine there'd be a lot more to his dream than that... But I'll leave that up to your imaginations... )

* * *

His heart was pounding like a drum in his ears when the telephone thrust him from his sleep. He sat up in bed and picked up the receiver, giving a quick, "Hello?" in a particularly groggy voice. He rubbed his eyes and face, clearing himself of the sweat that adorned him.

"You're late, Heaven forbid. First time in fuckin' ages," his half-brother laughed into the other end.

He yawned and asked, "What time is it?"

Again with the laughter. "Doesn't even fuckin' know what time it is. 10:30. Got a woman over or what?"

With that question asked, he promptly ended the conversation by hanging up the phone.

He dressed and readied himself for work, pushing the intimate dreams with Kagome Higurashi far from his mind.

* * *

He walked into the building late. For the first time in his time as president at Full Circle Industries, which was really something to be proud of. Rain or shine, if you couldn't find him online, you'd find him at work. Or eating. Or sleeping. One of those.

He looked around the office, busy as always. He imagined everyone had slacked off until they conned InuYasha into calling his apartment. It didn't matter in the least to him, just as long as they worked their tails off when he was present.

When his eyes came upon the loveseat Kaye had been busy working on, he was quite shocked to find her still working there. She looked like shit, as if she'd been up all night. And by the overflowing trashcan behind her and paper cups all around her suggesting she'd been drinking a steady amount of coffee... He guessed she had been.

He strode over to her, his eyebrow slightly raised. "Have you slept yet?"

She didn't even look up at him, just continued with what she was working on. Quick strokes of the pencil all over the paper. "What's it look like?"

He sighed and knelt beside her, taking the pencil from her hand. Her eyes lifted to his, and it was her turn to be shocked. "It looks as if you've not slept a wink. And it looks like you need someone to order you to do it."

She looked flustered, but he didn't know if it was from lack of sleep or that she might be angry. "I..." she started, then looked away from him. She was embarassed. "I meant to sleep... I just forgot... "

He hooked his right arm under her legs and his left under her back and lifted her from the loveseat, intent on taking her somewhere more comfortable to sleep. His office couch... It was a pull-out.

* * *

"What are you doing?" she demanded after wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Taking you to bed."

She became quite alarmed at that piece of information and started to wriggle in his grasp. "What the Hell are you talking about?"

"There is a hide-a-bed in my office. You look like shit. You're going to sleep."

She stopped struggling and settled herself into his arms, a soft "Oh" formed on her lips. As he walked, she marvelled at his strength and his... Kindness. It seemed so out of character from what she'd seen.

Just as those thoughts danced through her mind, she drifted off to sleep still held safe in his arms.

* * *

End of chapter ten... .

It's weird too. But I like it. It's cool. And weird. .


	12. A Nuissance, A Revelation

Okay guys, I know its been two and a half months or so... But please, I really hope this chapter makes up for the waiting you guys have done! Thank you all for the awesome reviews and for being so patient with me! My computer actually has not been fixed - instead, I'm on a laptop now. Its quite considerably slower, but whatever works, right?

I've been trying to work on my story for a while now, but nothing really inspirational has come at me.

I got a review asking something about what's with Kagome being called Kaye. Its her nickname, and I think if she was actually called Kagome, Sesshomaru might start to recognize her.

But anyways, I do hope this chapter was worth the wait! And I'll try to have the next chapter finished soon... Today if I can. I'm going into obsess mode again. Three chapters a day... :eye twitch:

* * *

Chapter Eleven... Please enjoy...

* * *

He was having a particularly difficult time working with her in his office. Even if she was asleep.

The way her hair fell about her shoulders and the content look on her face... So at peace. She was quiet, gorgeous... He had to resist the impulse to kneel before her and kiss her. Kiss the mouth that taunted and tormented him. Even to touch her cheek, to feel the softness of her skin. Beg her forgiveness...

He knew he should respect her... Give her the credit she deserved. She was taking on a lot working for him, and he did owe it to her to even attempt kindness. But when she was around, he couldn't seem to watch his mouth.

He was having a hard enough time with just one woman in his life... Kagome... He hadn't seen her or heard from her in... Actually it wasn't so long ago. Two days, perhaps. But he... Missed her. He liked the adventure she brought into his life, the random things she did when she was around him.

Sesshomaru wasn't quite sure how long he could go without seeing her... Before he started messaging her at all hours of the day whenever he could manage it. He needed to see her again... He hoped he would soon.

* * *

She woke up alone, just a little afraid. Her eyes opened and she looked around the strange office, trying to remember where she was, what had happened to lead her up to being there. She didn't remember walking to the office... All she remembered was the lounge, working all through the night.

She slipped her legs over the edge of the hide-a-bed and looked at the desk some seven feet away from her. 'S. Zetsumei.' Her eyes blinked in her confusion. 'The Hell happened that I'm in his office?'

For the life of her she couldn't remember. She looked around the office for the clock, and when her eyes finally landed on it, it read 10:13. Kagome could barely believe she'd slept so long. She hadn't checked a clock all the night before; the coffee she'd drank on a consistent basis had kept her wired all through the evening and into the morning.

She lifted herself off the hide-a-bed, her arms wrapping around herself as she peeked out the door. Not a sign of anyone. She ventured out into the hallway, looking around for any sign of life. Nothing. She went off in search of the elevators, and when she reached them she pushed them down button.

'Everyone must have gone home long ago... I'd better not be the only one here... '

* * *

The elevator ride down proved to be rather uninteresting; no stops along the way. When she reached the main floor, she stepped out of the elevator doors, very aware that her shoes were lost somewhere in the building. Her shoes and her sketchbook.

She made her way to the loveseat she'd situated herself upon the night before, looking under the coffee table and under all the cushions for shoes and sketchbook. Kagome looked under the loveseat, where one heel had managed to half hide itself. The other was missing completely; not to be found anywhere near where she'd been.

Her sketchbook was also missing, as well as all the drawings she'd tossed into the garbage can. 'Janitor must have finally come to collect... ' she thought, suddenly feeling rather sorry for the poor man or woman who had to pick up after her. Kagome made her way to the bar, one heel in hand, hoping against hope that someone would be around to help her find her things.

She was quite relieved when she saw a very familiar body sitting on one of the barstools. Although that was soon removed when she noticed what he'd been looking at. He'd made himself quite comfortable looking through her sketches. All of them... The ones she'd trashed and those she'd kept.

And there was her other heel.

* * *

He could hear the soft padding of feet behind him, and he turned his head to look up at the woman coming toward him. 'So she's finally awake,' he thought, a little excited to finally have a companion of a sort. She stopped just short of him. He thought she looked a trifle miffed, which was probably not a good thing.

Her arms crossed in front of herself, she asked, "Enjoying yourself?"

He turned the stool beside him so the seat faced her, beckoning her to join him. "Actually, yes. Your sketches are quite fascinating." He stopped to help her into the stool when she moved forward, and continued when she was settled in. "I'm quite happy with the work you've done thus far."

"Uh-huh. Really now?" She reached forward and grabbed her sandaled heel, looking like she'd rather hit him with it than put it on. "You're a fuckin' shoe thief, you know that?"

He rolled his eyes, not watching as she slipped into the heel. "I did not steal your shoe. I picked it up, along with your sketches and sketchbook so no one else would take them. Would you rather some other took it? Would you rather never see it again?"

She was glaring at him, her fingers gripping the the arms of the stool rather tight. "I'd rather my things be left where they were so I don't need to question who has them in the first place!" Her anger seemed to be rising, along with the level of her voice. "And the sketches surrounding the garbage can, and those that actually made it in were supposed to be left there."

Sesshomaru didn't understand why she'd want them left there. They were fantastic, just as he'd told her. "Why?" he asked, hoping to get a decent answer out of her.

* * *

"They don't fit," she replied, and went on when all she received was a confused look from her employer. "With you. With your company, your... Building." She motioned for the bartender to get her a drink, asked for a Pepsi.

"I'm still not quite following you."

She sighed, rolled her eyes as she did so. "When I design something, I design it after the one I'm working for. Because its his property and it has to reflect upon him as a person and as a business man or what-have-you. So I get to know the guy. Woman. Whatever it is. And I design it after their personality and their traits and just... Crap like that."

He seemed to understand that a lot more than the 'they don't fit' answer. Everyone understood it better that way. 'People are stupid,' she thought, still slightly angry at her shoe thief.

She smiled and thanked the bartender when he brought her a glass of ice and a can of Pepsi. She flipped the tab and took a small sip before pouring half of it into the glass.

"So then why are these not good enough? What is wrong with them?"

She could have slapped her forehead just then. "I already told you, they don't fit."

* * *

He frowned at her. "But what makes this so? Why do they not fit? What do they not fit with?"

"With you, dumbass! With your personality, with who you are, with who I see you as!" As she finished practically shouting at him, she began mumbling something about the stupidity of some people, to which he took some offense.

* * *

"Who am I? What am I? What do you see when you look at me?"

She turned and looked at him, a little shocked that he of all people should ask such questions. She didn't really know how to answer his questions without offending him further, and she thought she might have with what she'd mumbled... If he'd heard it, at any rate.

"You're... Rather annoying at the moment." She paused and turned her face up the ceiling, closing her eyes as she did. "You're very arrogant, very stubborn. Incredibly proud, confident. Efficient and hard working."

There was a long pause before he said, "If that's all you see then you're missing quite a lot."

She turned and looked at him, frowning as she did so. "I'm not finished, jackass. Don't interrupt me." She lifted her drink to her lips, taking a small drink before setting it back down, her fingertips tracing the edges of the glass. "I think you're reserved, you hide behind a mask of arrogance and pride so no one can see what you're really thinking and feeling."

* * *

He was going to object... To deny something... 'Open your mouth, don't let her know its true!' He was going to, but she didn't stop talking, and she didn't want to be interrupted.

"But I think that behind all that... You're a very kind man. I think that behind your masks you actually care and worry just like the rest of us. Why else would you have gone out of your way to put me to sleep in your office?"

The glow in her eyes, the look on her face... The admiration in her voice... He was rather speechless.

"I think you're a very strong man. I think you have faults and flaws, too... But all the things you do in your life, you do to refine those flaws... To be perfect. I think that's what motivates you; what pushes you to wake up each morning and come in to the office and work your ass off."

She stopped then, and when she did he thought she was finished. He was wrong, he wasn't even given a moment to think about what she'd said, or even to tell her she was wrong... That she was absolutely out of her mind.

"I think you look too much to the future, you rely so much on yourself that you never enjoy the moment... You don't live for the now, you live for the future. You don't stop to smell the flowers or play on the beach with a little plastic shovel and pail. But even so, you're very kind even if you are much too uptight."

She looked at him, her eyes smiling and her mouth slightly open as she nibbled on it. She leaned forward and kissed his cheek, softly whispering in his ear, "I'll see you tomorrow, Mr. Zetsumei."

Before he could react, call her back, she was out of her seat and quickly walking to the front doors of the building.

* * *

End of Chapter eleven... It might not make sense... But that's okay.

I won't be able to update for about... Nine days or so. I'm going to my dad's for a while and he doesn't have internet, so I won't be able to post anything I write until I'm home. I'm going to try to write a whole bunch of chapters and have them posted when I get back, though. So I hope the wait will be worth it for you all.

And... I'm not really sure what's really going to be contained in the next chapters. I know there's going to be a party to celebrate the new design of the building. And in virtual reality, Sesshomaru's going nuts without Kagome, but she won't be there for a while because she's "busy." But when she comes back, I think he's going to jump on her and she's going to attempt to resist and there'll probably be a fight.

... Just to warn you.


	13. The Innocence Of A Child

So okay... I left for my dad's on July 19th, '05. Obviously, I brought my laptop with me so I could write and enjoy myself at least some of the time. At this point, I don't really know if any of you liked the last chapter... Or if you bothered to read it after the long wait. I also don't really know how many chapters I'll write, and if I write a lot of them... I might post them once every few days or so. I haven't decided yet.

Anyways, here's the lastest installment of 'Drama of an Online World.'

* * *

Chapter Twelve...

Kagome half-skipped away from him, her sketchbook under her arm. She pushed the front doors open with her hips and stepped out into the cool night air. She made her way to the end of the sidewalk and signalled an oncoming taxi, cursing when it drove right by. 'Asshole taxi drivers.'

She was kind of regretting saying some of the things she'd said to her... Boss. And she was really regretting kissing his cheek. She wasn't sure how he'd take such... Friendly actions.

For one... He could fire her. Actually, that was really the only thing he could do. Besides spread the word around that she'd gotten a little too personal with her boss and... Odds are she'd never get another job in the city. Number one rule in her line of work: Never get involved with your clients.

She screamed when she felt a hand on her shoulder, immediately twisting around to face... Her boss.

'Shit.'

* * *

Her hand was clutching at her heart, her breathing irregular, her eyes closed. "You scared the fucking shit outta me!" she laughed when she'd calmed down a bit.

Sesshomaru smirked, he had to admit she looked rather attractive when she was scared. Her chest heaving from erratic breathing... "Very sorry about that, but I assure you it was important that I-"

Her eyes shot open and it became very apparent that she was rather angry when she cut him off. "Important that you scare the fucking life out of me? What the fuck for? See how high I'll fucking jump?"

"I'm afraid that when you interrupted me, Miss Kaye, you failed to hear the reason why I needed to speak to you." He'd wanted to adress her in a professional manner, even after she'd been so forward with him. 'But how can you be professional with a damn two-year-old?"

She was still scowling, one arm on her hip and the other at her side. "Uh-huh. And what's so fucking important?"

"Whats so important is that I am to inform you that there is to be a party this Saturday at 9 o'clock." He paused to let that bit of information sink in before he went on. "In your honor, by the way, a means to thank you for all that you've done for Full Circle Industries."

That seemed to have pleased her, a small smile growing on her face. "What kind of party?"

He had to resist the urge to laugh at her, and in any other situation he probably would have. But she was already probably angry enough with him. She didn't need any other reasons. "Formal - that means you are to wear a proper gown. There will be music, dancing, food and drink."

She turned away from him, so he couldn't see her face. That slightly bothered him, not being able to guage her reaction. But it wasn't as if he could grab her shoulder... He might get hit. And sometime in the next few days, he had plans to discuss with her all the things she'd revealed to him. He couldn't do it now, as again: He might get hit.

* * *

She was thinking it over. It sounded like fun, dancing and music... Sure it sounded a little suspicious. He hadn't even said anything about what she'd said just minutes ago. But if he didn't want to say anything that was fine with her. She signalled a taxi, relieved the driver had decided to pull over.

"Do I really have to wear a dress?" she asked, the only part of the idea she wasn't too fond of.

She could hear him laughing behind her, and she turned around. "Yes, actually, you do."

She rolled her eyes. "Well I'll be there, at any rate." She turned again and moved towards the taxi, opening the door and giving her address to her apartment. "I'll see you tomorrow, Mr. Zetsumei." And with that, she shut the door and told the man up front to take her home.

* * *

He'd been sitting in his study for nearly two hours, waiting for her to come online. He hadn't even been doing anything productive. Signed some papers, looked in on Rin who was as hard at work as himself.

He was thinking about sending her a message... 'But what to say?' Sesshomaru paced around the room, voicing his ideas for a message to no one in particular. He was almost mocking himself.

"Dearest Kagome, I've been thinking of you... Our kiss. Come to think of it, I'd like it to happen again!" He laughed at his idiocy, wondering what she'd think of him now.

"Or here's another... Lady Kagome, I've been looking for you in the Dimension and have noticed you've been absent as of late." He stood on the spot a moment, thinking of the next lines. "I've come to... Miss you. Please return soon."

A tiny giggle from the doorway caused him to quickly turn around, and he winced when he saw it was Rin. When she saw she'd been caught, she came out from her spot halfway behind the door. "Lord Sesshomaru, who's Lady Kagome?"

He'd hoped she hadn't caught the name... "She's a woman I know, Rin. A nuissance."

And there appeared the curious look on the child's face. "What's a noo-since, Lord Sesshomaru?"

He sighed and moved to one of the chairs in front of the fireplace, beckoning the girl to sit beside him. "Nuissance, Rin. It is someone who is annoying, someone you want to avoid."

She sat in the chair closest to him. "But then why do you miss her, Lord Sesshomaru?"

"Because Rin... " He looked around the room, pretending to search for other hidden people, and leaned a little bit closer to her. "Can you keep a secret?" he asked, knowing very well she probably couldn't. But it wasn't like she was going to meet Kagome anytime soon.

She nodded her head, yes.

"This Sesshomaru misses Lady Kagome because he likes her."

Rin's eyes grew wide and she gasped. "More than Rin, Lord Sesshomaru?"

He shook his head. "No Rin, this Sesshomaru likes her a different way." He stopped to consider how to explain it to her. "You are my daughter, and that is how I love you. She is... I do not like her the same way that I like you."

Her eyes blinked, she couldn't seem to understand what he was meaning. "What other way is there to like someone?"

He looked into the fire for a moment before looking back at his daughter. "Rin... This Sesshomaru likes Lady Kagome the way... The way that mommy's like daddy's and... Daddy's like mommy's." His face was rather flushed, he'd never really expected to have this conversation with his daughter. At least not for a few more years.

She cocked her head to the side and asked, "So... Lady Kagome is going to be Rin's mommy?"

Upon hearing this he very nearly fell out of his chair.

* * *

End of Chapter Twelve...

Yeah, I know. Incredibly short... But at least its entertaining. I couldn't think of anything else to write... Nothing was coming to me. I think in the next few chapters I might incorporate some of the other characters. Kagome might ask Kouga to be her date for the party... I think that'll be just a quick phone call, though... Sango and Miroku might drop by sometime too.


	14. Perfection In A Dress

Ahahahah... Here we go. The randomness of chapter thirteen. I love that number. 'Thirteen.' Everybody else I know hates it. But Friday the 13th and just... I donno. I think its magical! Mwahahahaha... :chokes:

By the way, Rin really is Sesshomaru's daughter, she just doesn't live with him. I'll explain it soon. Oh! And in the game, Rin calls her father 'Lord Sesshomaru' because in game, she's just his ward. After the party, Sesshomaru and Kagome might go out for dinner or something, 'cause Kouga's deciding to be a possessive freak. Questions will be asked and questions will be answered.

Anyways... Here ya go!

* * *

Last time...

He looked into the fire for a moment before looking back at his daughter. "Rin... This Sesshomaru likes Lady Kagome the way... The way that mommy's like daddy's and... Daddy's like mommy's." His face was rather flushed, he'd never really expected to have this conversation with his daughter. At least not for a few more years.

She cocked her head to the side and asked, "So... Lady Kagome is going to be Rin's new mommy?"

Upon hearing this he very nearly fell out of his chair.

* * *

Chapter Thirteen... Enjoy!

* * *

"Rin... You already have a mother and... It is not so simple as that. It is far more complicated." His tongue was having a hard time forming the right words, and he couldn't seem to find them. "As much as I like her, for her to be your... Your step-mother... She would have to like me in return."

She seemed to be having a difficult time comprehending his meaning, but he really didn't know how to explain it any better.

Her eyes seemed to light up, "So make her like you, Lord Sesshomaru! Everyone likes Lord Sesshomaru!"

He couldn't keep the smile off his face when she said so. "Oh, they do? Well how will this Sesshomaru make Lady Kagome like me? Have any good ideas?"

She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Kiss her, Lord Sesshomaru!"

Any hope he had of staying in his chair vanished when he heard her say this, and he toppled over onto the floor. Rin was up off her chair in an instant to help him to his feet. "Are you alright, Lord Sesshomaru?"

"I'm fine, Rin." He lifted the fallen chair from the floor and placed it back in its position. "Now, would you care to explain why this Sesshomaru should kiss Lady Kagome?"

"Well mama seems to like it when that ucky Naraku man kisses her..." She looked confused when she said so.

It was rather obvious she didn't seem to like the idea of her mother kissing Naraku, but neither had he when he'd caught them in bed. But that had been a long time ago, and he'd decided it had only been a matter of time before Kagura moved on to another man's bed.

The little girl stood in front of him, looking up into his eyes. "Won't you make her like you, Lord Sesshomaru?"

He smiled down at her and touched her cheek with his hand. "This Sesshomaru is trying, Rin."

* * *

She was beginning to go through symptoms of withdrawls after the third day of not entering the Dimension. She really wanted to play the game, see if any updates had been made, see how many new players had been added to her server. But she couldn't play now... Not after she'd been away for so long already. And it wasn't like she really needed to play, more than likely there was nothing for her to do.

So... She had to suffer with incredible boredom. Or she could work, she still had to design something suitable for the Full Circle's building. But nothing truly inspirational had come to her. And it had to be perfect. Absolutely fucking perfect.

And now she had to find a dress. And she only had two days to do it! (A.N: By my way of thinking, this should mean that its Thursday and that she's got Friday and Saturday to find one.)

She turned and reached over her bed for her laptop, pulling it up beside her. She flicked the power button and lifted the screen, waiting for the familiar background of her favorite Dimension screenshots. There were four of them, one of each of her best friends in game.

One of Sango in her demon exterminator's outfit, posing over the carcass of a newly slain spider demon. The smirk on her face was well placed, perfect for such a screenshot. She'd always thought it would've been a much funnier picture if Sango had been wearing a little pink tutu with her hair in pigtails... But no one else could see the humour in this.

The second was of Miroku, unconscious on the ground. A large hand print on her cheek from where Sango had slapped him for grabbing her ass... Again. He just never seemed to learn to keep his hands off. He would've been able to ask her to marry him a lot sooner if he'd just listened to reasonable advice.

The third was of Shippo training with his fox fire (and she had to say that this was by far her favorite). Of course, he hadn't been very powerful back then, he'd still been fairly new to Dimension. But he was cute. If all else failed, he could give the enemy puppy dog eyes and run for his life.

The last picture was of InuYasha crouching in the God tree. She probably should change the last screenshot, since she and InuYasha had fallen out over... Kikyo.

'Bitch.'

When the group had still been together, Kikyo had betrayed them on a particularly big quest to take out one of the newer mission bosses, and of course, InuYasha could never believe this about his precious Kikyo. He sided with her when the group fought and she nearly got him killed. But that didn't seem to matter to him, after all... He proposed to her.

In the real world, of course.

That still really got her pissed off, seeing as how she had liked him once upon a forever ago. Just a crush, but you never forget them for some odd reason. Not when they're marrying your sister anyways.

When her laptop finished loading completely, she tracked the cursor over the Internet icon and double clicked. Fully intent on finding a dress over the Internet. Odds are, she'd have more luck finding one online than in any store in the city. The Internet just so happened to be a wonderful tool.

* * *

Sesshomaru woke up on Friday morning feeling worse than when he'd gone to bed. And that was saying something. She hadn't been online all night and he'd waited until he could barely stay awake. And that had been sometime around four in the morning. Probably hadn't been a good idea to pull an all-nighter, seeing as how he had to be in the office at 9.

He sat up in bed and let his legs move over the side so his feet touched the floor. He made his way to his closet, not really sure if he intended to go to work or not. He was rather tired, after all.

He could call in sick... Or he could just make his way back to his bed and sleep the rest of the day away.

He walked back to his bed and jumped onto it, burying his face in his pillows. 'Good idea.'

* * *

"Please, please, please Sango?" she begged over her cellphone. "I promise you'll have fun... Whatever fun can be had while shopping for a dress anyways. And you need to find one too, remember? Or have you lost your invite already?"

"No, I did not lose the invitation, Kaye," a miffed voice replied, sighing in defeat. "Alright, you annoying wench. Where do you want me to meet you?"

She laughed into the receiver. "Got a nickname and a wench practically in the same sentence! You must be fond of me."

"Oh, shut up and tell me where to find you!" Sango barked. She was always rather grumpy this time of the month... Ahem.

She thought a moment about the best place to begin her search for the perfect gown. "The North Prairie Mall? Don't they have that fabulous boutique on the corner by that cafe? The Palm?"

"Uh-huh, they do. What time shall I come by?"

"I'm headed there right now, Sango dear." There was a slight pause, before she pleaded, "And don't bring Miroku with you."

Sango laughed, "Wouldn't dream of it, Kagome." And with that... She hung up. Not a goodbye or anything.

'Ahh, the rudeness of some people. Oh, but how I loveth thee!'

* * *

She and Sango had tried on at least half the formal wear the boutique had in stock, not one of them right for either girl. There had been some that had the potential to be gorgeous, but they'd just so happened to be in the wrong color. And color could mean everything! Color and the length of the skirt.

And they had to make an impression... Sango for their company. KS Designs. Rather bland title, but they were working on it. And they'd really only been in business some three and a half years. And of course, Kagome had to make an impression on... Someone. She hadn't quite decided on who yet. She still had to find a date.

There were really only two people she could bring with her, and she really wasn't looking forward to making the decision. It was either Hojo or Kouga. Not that they weren't fine young men... They just weren't for her.

Hojo was way too nice, and he was kind of a... Wuss. And he always seemed to stear clear of her whenever she was ill. Wouldn't so much as give her a call. And he seemed to really disapprove of her friends. Sure they were odd and Miroku was a pervert, but they suited her.

Kouga was too... He was too much of... Kouga. He was rather hard to explain. For as long as she could remember, he'd called her his woman. She wasn't even sure he knew her name. But he'd professed his undying love for her and he was rather possessive. And in most cases, that would be a good thing. But he took it to a whole new level. Not cool.

So on one hand, she could take Hojo, who would more than likely accompany her and ask her every three minutes if she was alright or not. Or she could take Kouga, who would latch himself onto her arm and snarl and grown at any who should try to talk to her.

'And oh, how decisions suck.'

"How about this one Kagome?" Sango asked, holding up a crimson, thin strapped gown with a slit to the hip. Sequins trailed from the breast, down the side along the slit on either side and around the bottom of the skirt. "I admit, it is rather flashy, but the train is quite pretty."

She laughed at her friend's girlishness. "So go try it on!" she said as she continued her quest. Marvelous thing to call it, really.

'Oh, and what the boys would think of me now! Me, the mighty warrior priestess, Kagome! Shopping... For a dress.'

She sighed, stopping when she came across a multi-blue gown and holding it out so she could see it. The blue went from a pale blue at the bust and faded, making its way darker and darker until it appeared to be almost black at the bottom. Sequins were sewn into place along the bottom, giving it the appearance of the night sky. Strapless, a slit making its way about halfway up the back.

She turned when she heard the rustling of fabric behind her. "Oh Sango, its absolutely perfect for you! The color is magnificent."

Sango smiled and looked at the gown in Kagome's hand. "Aha, and look at the pretty thing you've got there. Aiming to impress a special someone with that?"

She glared at her. "Oh, do shut up Sango." She made her way to the dressing room to further prove to herself that the dress she'd found was perfect.

* * *

By the time he walked into the building, it was already well after 4 o'clock. He was actually quite amazed he'd managed to sleep so long without disturbance. He'd expected his brother to call at least once. And if he had... Well, he'd slept through it.

He could tell by the looks he'd been getting that his employees were beginning to suspect something was going on. More than likely they thought he was having an affair. The woman, he imagined, was his designer. Now, he couldn't say the thought hadn't crossed his mind, because it had. He'd just pushed it far enough back so as to ignore it.

Besides, he'd been having enough difficulty with just one woman. Bringing another into the situation could prove to have some immediate displeasing consequences. The wrath of a woman is not to be taken lightly.

He made his way to the elevator, pleased to at last be away from curious laughing eyes. He pushed the button for his floor, and settled in for the ride up, silently praying that InuYasha had decided to take the day off as well.

* * *

End of Chapter Thirteen... Ahahaha. I love that number.

Heaven help me, I am so bored. I'm obviously sorta kinda still at my dad's (now that you're reading it I'm not, but at the moment I am) and I've been home alone all day. Rodeo weekend and whatnot.

We went to the Demolition Derby on Friday. It was so awesome. During the third heat, one of the cars took a really big hit and flipped over... And... The car that hit it somehow landed on top of it. It was awesome. The people sitting behind us, I'm guessing, were related to the driver pinned under the car and holy shit... HOSTILE!

They were yelling all kinds of evil mean stuff. It was frickin' funny. Whenever the black GKC car would drive by (that's the one that flipped the one over) they'd boo him and yell at him. 'Twas great.

I've watched five movies thus far today. Well... This is the fifth. The first was Waterworld. Then Tarzan. Then Monster's Inc. Then Robin Hood. The last three were Disney movies. And now I'm watching The Village. I think I'm gonna watch the Hulk next, but I'm not sure. :yawn: Actually, I might go to sleep after this one.

I also might be going home either tomorrow or Monday, hopefully anyways. :crosses fingers: And I mean, I've only written two chapters, but I hope you enjoy them. Personally I think they're kinda wonky, not really going with the flow. There's been a lot of real world stuff going on the last little while, but Kagome's going to go back soon. And then I'm hoping something exciting will happen. She won't be going back until after the party, but that's soon enough anyways.

Anyways, I'm off to start the next chapter and then I'm off to do something else. Sayonara!


	15. Foolproof

Hoo-da-lally! Fortune's, forcasts, lucky charms! Get the go on your horoscope!

:ahem: I've been watching a lot of cartoons lately. Can't help it, really. I love them. Disney movies are the best, I think. Robin Hood, Mulan, The Sword In The Stone, The Jungle Book... Those are some of my favorites. But you didn't really need to know that.

So anyways...

Uhm... By the way (I don't actually know who really reads these, but... ) Sanosuke is Sesshomaru. He's being a trixy bugger. And when it says 'Sanosuke:' or 'Kagome:' or really... Any other character name, that just means that's what the message says and who its from. Sorry for any confusion.

And Jaken and Rin are other characters. They both know Sesshomaru in the real world - Rin because she's his daughter, and Jaken because he works for him. Its hard to imagine Jaken being into RPG's, but that's okay.

And... I know its probably not fair to anyone else who's reviewed... But there's like... Two people I'd like to dedicate this chapter to... Actually, no. I'd like to go back to Chapter Thirteen and dedicate that one to them... But I hadn't thought of it at the time! So... Aisu-Hime and this anonymous reviewer that reviewed for Chapter 7...

"is in elovator w/ Sessy

Begins to sing loudly and out of tune

WE ALL LIVE IN A YELLOW SUBMERINE! A F-CKING YELLOW SUBMERINE! WE ALL LIVE (we all live) IN A YELLOW (in a f-cking yellow) SUBMERINE!

Sessy: twitch"

... Chapter Thirteen was for you! Or wait... One of you can have Thirteen and the other can have Fourteen! Ahahaha... :shifty eyes: I'll try not to make a habit out of dedicating my chapters, 'cause that's not really fair to anyone else. But they made my day three times. How that works is completely lost to me, but that's okay too!

Welcome to the wonderfulness that is Chapter Fourteen... (Fourteen sucks... The number anyways... I don't actually know if the chapter is good, yet, seeing as how I haven't written it yet. And the only people who's opinions matter are you guys! So I hope you likes it.)

* * *

"You know, I always knew you'd come around, Kagome. You took a little longer than I expected, but you came around in the end."

Already she was starting to feel the oncoming rush of a massive sized headache. "Kouga, this isn't a date. And really, if that's how you're going to look at it I'll take Hojo with me!"

She could hear him gasp on the other end, and with the sudden change in his voice, it was rather obvious he didn't approve of that idea. "So what is it, then Kaye?"

Kagome really wanted to slap him upside the head. Too bad he wasn't anywhere near. "We're two mutual friends going to a party. We just happen to be going together."

"So... A friendly date then, right?"

She could have screamed right there. Really. "No, Kouga! Fuck! We're friends. We're going to a party. End of fucking discussion!" She probably shouldn't have yelled at him over the phone, but she knew he wouldn't understand anyway. "So are you coming or am I asking Hojo?"

"Yeah yeah, I'll come," was the reply.

* * *

After waking up Saturday morning Sesshomaru headed straight into Dimension. He hadn't brushed his hair or his teeth, hadn't taken his morning walk, hadn't eaten breakfast. And that was a bad way to start a day.

He was beginning to worry about Kagome and he was missing her something fierce. Almost going through withdrawls or something.

He had nothing to do, either. He'd finished everything the night before. Sure, he could look into the updates and see if any new quests had been initiated into virtual reality. Maybe he should start a new character... Start from scratch. Any newer quests were more than likely for players new to the game, and since he'd completed his fair share of them already... It'd be easy enough.

He began the logout sequence, where the screen was shortly replaced by the main menu. He selected the new character mode and began the creation of his new self.

Of course, some things must remain the same. Again, he chose dog demon as his species, which meant he would be accompanied by amber eyes and silky silver hair. Only this time around, he'd decided on his hair being short and spiked. Virtual reality gel really was a wonder. He set his height to 5'11", about six inches shorter than his original character's.

With his hometown set in Miriva and his name set to Sunosuke, he was ready to once again begin life in Dimension.

* * *

She'd logged in before she even had the chance to change her mind. She had to play... Really. She didn't even know how long it had been anymore. Lost track of all sense of time since she'd been inside the Dimension. 'And that, ladies and gentlemen, is when you know you're really addicted!'

She flicked on the updates screen and began downloading the latest three. Two quests and a new navigation system - something about making it easier for new players to get into the game. But she hadn't been a new player in a long time.

When the updates finished, her body appeared in her room at the Inn of Four Souls. She'd been away so long, she hadn't even remembered where she'd last logged out. After exchanging her traveling clothes for her armour, she retrieved her weapons from the chest and left the room, determined to have some small adventure.

* * *

He'd thought he'd seen her leaving the inn. He recognized the spiked scale mail and the long black hair, but through the crowded streets he'd lost her. Which was rather odd in itself - crowded streets in Miriva?

There was some kind of festival going on all week in honor of the Goddess of Rain. Apparently there hadn't been rain in months, and the non-play villagers and some of the other characters were getting desperate. So there'd be all kinds of dancing in hopes that the higher-ups might induce a little rainfall.

He pushed his way through the crowd, desperately hoping to find her. Once he was through, he thought he'd seen her slip into the woods, but he couldn't be completely certain.

So... He messaged her. Of course, he had to stay in character... And this new one was... New. 'Ahh... Pretending to be a nobody.' He could have cried.

* * *

The buzz that accompanied the message made her jump nearly all the way out of her armour. She had to sit down to catch her breath before she was even able to consider opening it.

When Kagome pulled up the message screen, she checked the sender. 'Sanosuke...?' As soon as she realized she really didn't know who he was, she scanned through online characters, determined to know who he was before she responded.

It would've helped if he wasn't set to half-anonymous. Hometown of Miriva, dog demon... And of course, the part of his profile he'd set to anonymous just so happened to be his picture. Which meant that she had no idea if she'd seen him in the game or not. Which meant that she really had no idea how to respond... If she was going to at all. She hadn't even read the message yet.

Sanosuke: Priestess Kagome, I thought I saw you here in Miriva, and on one of the quests I participated in I heard your name mentioned on numerous occasions. I would really like to meet you, and perhaps we could partake in a quest together!

* * *

It had already been ten minutes and he was beginning to think he'd seen a mere shadow of Kagome. If it was her, though, and she was just taking her sweet time about replying... A plan was hatching in his mind. A very fragile scheme, though. If she didn't accept his invitation his plan would never see the light of day.

If she accepted, he wouldn't let her know who he really was. He would play the part of Sanosuke flawlessly, whoever that might be. He hadn't really decided upon a personality for the new character, so he was really open for anything.

He was really looking forward to testing his role playing skills, to see if she'd see right through him or if she'd never guess who he really was. Sesshomaru was a very happy... Puppy. He could do virtually anything so long as she didn't know who he was! He could find out who she was, of course, he didn't really expect her to give her real world information - that was personal. But he could find out what kinds of things she was into... Her hobbies, what she... Anything, really.

But he had to be careful and very cautious. She might have been avoiding him because she was angry with him or... Well that was really the only reason he could come up with. But if she suspected him of hiding anything, she might be even more upset! If she was upset to begin with.

And that would most definitely be a bad thing. If she were more upset, anyways.

A loud beeping startled him suddenly and he realized he'd forgotten to set the messaging settings to keep the noise level down. But the annoyance he'd felt originally was quickly remedied when he noted who the sender was.

Kagome: I'm guessing by the message that you're relatively new. So... Uhm... Sure. I actually can't do anything at the moment, I just checked the time here and I have to head off. But if you're still interested later, what quest, what time and where do you want to meet? Its about 4:35 P.M here, so whatever time you'd like to meet...

The waiting he could do without, but he was pleased nonetheless. He could have danced he was so excited... But he didn't. He had to reply first. And then he would dance!

* * *

Sanosuke: How about the new thunder quest - the one set up for the rain festival? 7:00 tomorrow night, your time, and I'll meet you at the entrance to the Thunder Caves at Mount Ekowari.

'Perfect. At least he's considerate... Some people have lives on Sundays!' She laughed at her idiocy before replying to his message, just a quick, "I'll be there. Talk to you then."

She began the logout sequence a little disappointed at having to abandon virtual reality yet again.

* * *

End of Chapter Fourteen...

Well. Now that I've finished I have come to the conclusion that this chapter might not be so bad. But that's just me. And I'm crazy most days so I really shouldn't listen to me. Let me know what you thought of the randomness that is my mind!

Oh... And... Uhm... I changed my mind halfway through this chapter. I had originally decided to get Kagome to come back to virtual reality after the party, but she came back before. You would not believe the difficulty I had when trying to make all this stuff make sense!... Considering that it doesn't:evil maniacal laughter:

Oh God I'm messed up. -.-'


	16. Ready And Waiting

So hokay, now that I'm home I'm allowed to think and ask questions of my own! Yes, yes its true! I was thinking I might start an update list... E-mail anyone who wants me to when the next chapter has been updated. Of course, this is just a thought. THOUGHT.

And I think at the end of this chapter will be a poll. And I'd really like it if anybody who reads it will vote, because it has something to do with the next few chapters. Well... The outcome anyways. Sorta kinda. I'm not sure. I haven't actually decided the question yet! But I'm working on it. My brain can only work so fast, you know!

I was also thinking of going back and renaming all the fantabulous chapters. But... Gawd am I lazy. And I mean, I have a hard enough time thinking up the randomness of all the things I'm incorporating into the story. This story is so random it almost scares me!

I also haven't decided if this chapter is going to have the party included in it or not. Which would make this chapter really short. But I think I'm concocting something deep within the depths of my evil little mind which could change the course of history! BLASPHEMY! (That is how you spell it, right? O.o?)

Woof... :rocks out to the Spiderman themesong: (Not the cartoon one... But the rendition done by Michael Buble... Also known as He Who Rox My Sox)

Oh the horror... ! The madness of Chapter Fifteen has... Spoken?... >.>

* * *

She'd gotten out of the shower thoroughly clean, her hair clean and soft. She wrapped a large towel around her body and made her way into her bedroom, where music was streaming out of her C.D player.

She wasn't really aware of what song was playing, just that it happened to be rather bouncy. At any rate, she liked it. The greatest music to get ready for a party is something with a beat. Its more fun that way. Or at least, that's what her opinion of the matter was. And she just so happened to be a very opinionated person most of the time.

Kagome dried herself off and walked to the closet, pulling out a black tank-top and navy sweatpants before moving on to her dresser, where she found matching black bra and panties. She dressed herself, aware she only had a limited amount of time to ready herself before Kouga came by to pick her up.

She blow-dried her hair, running her fingers through it to make sure all of it was dry and ready for primping. She hadn't actually decided how she was going to dress up her hair, but she had a few hours before Kouga picked her up to come up with something.

She danced back to the bathroom, her hair flying around her. She wiped off the mirror as best she could, and proceeded to apply her make-up. Which didn't really consist of a lot. A little black eye-liner on the bottom lid, some mascara and a little lip gloss.

'Well that was quick.' Sometimes she amazed even herself.

* * *

She'd decided to curl her hair in soft ringlets, leave it down, trailing down her back. After applying all the necessary hairspray, she brought out the glitter! She sprayed it over her head a few times; she really had no desire to smell like glitter.

Kagome had somehow managed to prepare herself in record time, at least her hair and make-up anyways. Make-up took a whole seven minutes, and her hair took roughly an hour and fifteen minutes. She was in awe.

The music was still playing in her bedroom, and that's where she was headed. She plucked her dress off the bed and carried it with her to the bathroom, dancing as she went along. She stripped herself of the majority of the clothing that actually covered her body, and stepped into the gown, pulling it up to cover her bra and slipping her arms into the clear straps that she hadn't noticed until they'd poked at her in the dressing room. She'd been rather glad she'd found those. Reaching around, she yanked the zipper upwards until she somehow managed to get it all the way to the top.

She made sure she was still presentable, and when she was happy with her appearance, she left the safety of her bathroom in search of other entertainment. Which meant shutting off her C.D player and watching T.V until Kouga arrived.

* * *

Piece by piece, he was finally coming together. He really hated the layers of the tuxedo, but what must be done must be done! And really, he was so excited he didn't care. He'd seen Kagome again, after... Well he really couldn't remember how long it had been since he'd seen her... But he'd seen her! Even sort of talked to her!

And afterwards... Oh yes indeed, he had danced. All around the privacy of his bedroom. He'd even sang in the shower, and for some strange deranged reason he'd been humming since he'd been online.

And the party would be a success. He hoped so, anyways. He really hoped Kagome would behave herself, at least somewhat. And he really hoped he hadn't made a mistake in inviting Sango and Miroku. Even though the two were married, Miroku tended to be a little more forward in public than she'd like and... She was rather grumpy a lot.

He fastened his tie and pulled on the jacket, glancing in the full-length mirror as he did so. He shook his hands through his hair and admired his handiwork, giving the mirror a sexy smirk to keep it company while he was away.

He left his bedroom and walked to the front door, pulling it open with a swish, grinning suavely at the invisible people that lived in his hallway. He reached back inside and picked his keys up off the rack, locking his door before he strutted down the hall to the elevator.

'And now to pick up my date!' was the only thing on his mind.

Although, in the back of all his random thoughts, he was sure he'd forgotten something...

* * *

She jumped a little when she heard the doorbell ring, and almost tripped when she rushed to answer the door. He was late! A whole half hour late! That might mean that if he didn't drive like the homicidal maniac she knew he was, that they were going to be late!

She opened the door without really looking at who was standing there and started ranting away. "Fuck, you finally get here! I've been waiting for-" She stopped herself there when she looked back at the man standing in her doorway. She looked at him confused... She had no idea what was going on. "Uhm... What the fuck are you doing here?"

There stood her boss in all his formal glory. He was wearing a tux and a tie so dark it appeared black. His hair had been left the way it usually was, slightly messy and all over the place. He was grinning at her, looking her over like she was a piece of meat.

She bit her lip. 'Fuck, he's sexy.'

* * *

End of Chapter Fifteen... I told you it'd be short... It's like, the twenty minute chapter!

Hokay, moving onwards! The question for the poll thingie! This is just a 'Yes' or 'No' question, just 'cause... Well really just because the question I wanted to ask... I forgot what it was. So... On to the question of DOOM!... Of the poll.

Q: The evil plan Sesshomaru is concocting... Y'know, the one where he's going to question Kagome about all kinds of stuff and get to know her 'n stuff? Well... Somehow later on when all the votes are tallied or whatever - Should Kagome find out?

Actually, that's really the question. "Should Kagome find out?" The rest of all that was just so you knew what the Hell I was talking about. 'Cause I was thinking it'd make for a great fight scene... Verbal anyways. I donno if I'm very good at the violence stuff. So... Lots of yelling and being angsty and all that good stuff. Anyways. Please vote and... Uhm... Review!


	17. Interrupted By Obsession

Hokay... So. I'm betting you're all wondering, 'What the eff is Sesshomaru doing there? Isn't Kouga her date?' Well he was! Is. There's going to be an episode very shortly, and I hope you'll stick around to watch. Listen. Read. :slaps her forehead: All will be revealed!

And I'm thinkin' that Kagome will indeed find out about Sesshomaru's plan to use his new character to find out some... :shifty eyes:... Top secret personal information about her. But the poll is still open and available for voting. So far are as such: Yes-3. No-0.

And yes I do realize I don't give you people a whole lot of time to review... I can't help it! I'm freaking obsessed!

Oh... And this chapter's a little bit... Uhm... Hott.

Enjoy Chapter Sixteen... Wait... This is Chapter Sixteen... Right? >.>...

* * *

He was rather speechless, sort of. He was quite sure he could talk if he wanted to but... Just ogling the fox in front of him was keeping him occupied enough! He was very nearly half out of his mind just looking at her! Much more of it and he might drag her inside and make good use of her furniture. 'Oh God, good idea, good idea... '

Her hair was curled, almost floating on her shoulders and down her back. And what make-up she used seemed only to touch up the natural beauty she already possessed. Her eyes were more accentuated and her lips were... Glossy and incredibly kissable. And that was a good idea too. But a kiss would lead to a touch, and a touch would lead to... A whole lot of heavy petting.

Heavy petting and he'd only been looking at her face!

* * *

Kagome really wanted to loosen his tie... Or rip it off. She wanted to remove his jacket and the button-up shirt beneath it. She wanted to see the muscled chest she'd felt when he'd put her to bed in his office. She wanted to feel him. Although at this point in time she really just wanted to get him to bed.

She looked down a little lower, and a little lower turned into looking at his waist. She was almost going to reach out and touch him she wanted to so bad...

When she managed to look back into his eyes, she had the distinct impression he was undressing her with his eyes. And oh, how she loved it! Besides, she'd been doing the same thing up until she noticed the way he was looking at her. She couldn't say she cared, either. She was about ready to drag him inside and have her evil way with him.

By the looks of things, however... It wouldn't be all that evil.

* * *

It had taken him a while, but he'd finally managed to drag his eyes away from her mouth... Her pouty little mouth. At any rate, he'd shifted his gaze a little lower to her neck, not that it stayed there long. Her dress covered her breasts almost completely, very little cleavage showing. But it was tight-fitting, clinging in all the right places. And when she breathed, the material shifted to conform to her every movement.

Sesshomaru was having a difficult time not touching her. The need was becoming so desperate that whenever he felt his hands lift of their own accord, he clenched his fists in an attempt to calm himself.

He wanted to press his lips against her throat, slide the tip of his tongue along her shoulder. He wanted his hands all over her body; one against her stomach and the other on her back... Pulling her ever closer. And however flattering it was, he wanted her dress pooled on the floor at her feet. Didn't really care how he managed to take it off her, but he didn't want it on her.

'It would look much better on the floor.'

* * *

She could feel her body trembling, she couldn't seem to stop it. She could very nearly taste him! She could almost feel his skin against hers. Her heartbeat was increasing so she could hear little else. And they hadn't even touched yet!

And it was very apparent he felt the same way. His chest was heaving with his laboured breathing. His hands looked like they were itching to touch her, but he was keeping them rather snugly in check. And she really didn't want that, not when she felt the same way... Not when... Well it didn't matter.

She wanted his hands. She wanted him. And rules be fucking damned, she had had enough of waiting.

She took small steps toward him, seeming to move only inches at a time. When she was close enough, she lifted her hands to his chest to steady herself. She lifted her mouth up to his, stood on tip-toe and pulled him down the rest of the way.

* * *

His response was immediate, his lips closed on hers and his assault on her mouth was begun. Her mouth was just as impatient as his own, placing fleeting kisses anywhere she could.

His hands were all over her back, moving lower with each passing second. He reached lower still and hiked up her dress, lifting her legs so her ankles could lock around his waist. He was really liking the position they were in, her dress pulled right up her thighs. He would've touched them if he could, but he needed at least one hand to support her while he closed the door with the other.

He made his way as quickly as he could to the nearest piece of furniture - the kitchen counters. He set her down, and his hands slid their way down to her thighs, kneading the skin there. When he heard her gasp, he moved his hands a little further along her thighs.

He was incredibly pleased when he felt her fingers tugging on his tie, too impatient to untie it. He lifted his hands and somehow, with the majority of his concentration placed on the quick breathing of the woman in front of him, managed to removie his tie. He wasn't able to return his hands to where he wanted to, because as soon as the tie was on the floor his jacket was being pushed down his shoulders.

* * *

She was so impatient she couldn't wait for him to get his hands out of his jacket. Her deft little fingers were hard at work at the buttons on his shirt, making some effort not to just rip them off. Her mouth moved forward, placing open-mouthed kisses down his neck to cover the area she'd exposed.

Her hands slid back up once she'd finished to push the shirt down his shoulders. Her lips were on a sprinting journey all over his chest, her tongue slipping out to flick at his tiny nipples. She could barely hear it when he groaned, could barely hear anything over the sound of her heart.

"What the fuck is going on here, Kaye?" She heard that and her head whipped around to a very angry looking Kouga. She looked back at Mr. Zetsumei who had yet to fully register what was going on and pushed him back, jumping off the counter to pull down the skirt of her gown. Wrinkled. 'Perfect.'

She didn't really know how to explain what was going on... Really she didn't. She was still half dazed from what she'd been doing a few minutes ago and she didn't really have the capacity to think at the moment. "I uhh... Get out, Kouga."

His eyes were wide and if it were at all possible, it looked like he was more angry than he'd been before. "What the fuck are you talking about? Get out? I'm your fucking date, remember?"

She was racking her brain trying to come up with something. "Yeah... About that. You were so late I decided to call someone else. I didn't know if you'd decide to show up or not." She stopped for a minute, thinking everything through. "He didn't have anyone to go with tonight so... I asked him."

"Apparently that's not all you fucking asked him!" he shouted at her. It was rather obvious what he was insinuating, but she just had to ask.

"And what the fuck is that supposed to fucking mean?" She made her way over to where he was standing. When in a shouting match, its always best to stand as close as possible. Close range while slapping someone is much more effective.

"The fuck do you think it means you slutty little whore?" Of course she'd known it was coming, but it still hurt. On a miniscule level. And she couldn't let that hurt go unpunished.

She wound up, and just as quickly as he'd said those hurtful words, she punched him in the face. She was rather satisfied when she saw him fall to the floor from the impact. "Get out of my fucking apartment, you obsessed fucking bastard!"

* * *

He was actually quite surprised at her strength - for someone as small as she was, she was rather impressive. Until she started yelling back at Kouga, he'd almost thought he'd have to defend her. He found it quite attractive and enticingly appealing that she could defend herself.

He'd managed to dress himself once more, though how she'd undressed him so fast was almost completely beyond his comprehension. He could still feel her lips on his chest... Still needed her touch. But when he checked his watch, he decided they were already late enough.

He looked over at her. She was even more attractive this way... With her hair all over the place and her eyes wild and her breathing eratic. She was quite possibly one of the sexiest women he knew.

He walked over to where she stood and began to gently comb through her hair with his fingers. When he'd finished with her hair he bent down to smooth the wrinkles out of her gown.

"I think we're late for the party," she laughed out. "Shall we skip it and say we were indisposed?"

He grinned, "Only if you'll accompany me to dinner first."

She laughed again and looped her arm in his. "Ready if you are, Captain!"

* * *

End of Chapter Sixteen... I love it. Its so... Hott. And random.

I decided to say, "Fuck the party!" Well actually I don't want to, but I mean... I'm not going to write that. Because I really don't want to at this point. I just want to keep writing. And I was quite pleased with the direction this chapter was going and so I decided, "To Hell with it!"

:shrugs: I like it.


	18. The Continental Songbird Of Japan

Congratulations to all of you who've made it to... Uhm... Well congratulations all the same. So I'm assuming with all the reviews I got about Chapter Sixteen that all of you thoroughly enjoyed it. So did I! Sesshomaru is soooo sexy :sighs dreamily and melts into a puddle at his feet:

About the mailing list... If you'd like to be put on it, when you review just let me know, okay? And every time I update this fic I'll E-mail you. If you want to be E-mailed when _A Lonely Soul_ is updated, ask about that too.

I've also decided to do a sort of "deleted scenes" or rather... An "alternate scenes" thing. More than likely, there won't be very many, but that's okay. I'll have to go back and read the first chapters for some alternate scenes. I'll post them after all chapters are complete and the epilogue has been written. Which will be a while. So. I'll be busy coming up with some deleted scenes at the same time as I'm writing the actual story.

And I've got a question... Do you think Kagome's a virgin? In my fic, at any rate. I mean, she doesn't know anyone really worth while until Sesshomaru, but she's rather out there and open. Kind of strong and opinionated and a little bitchy. 'Cause I mean, eventually she and Sesshomaru are going to fuck/ have sex/ make love. Whatever you want to call it. And I need to decide if she's a virgin or not.

Chapter Seventeen welcomes you all with open arms and... If you need more go find a toilet 'cause this chapter doesn't have legs.

* * *

She almost couldn't believe she was walking down the street with him, hand-in-hand no less. And he was smiling. He looked really cute when he smiled. Not even cute... Just... Absolutely drop-dead sexy. Probably because he didn't smile very often. Just like she probably looked sexy when she was angry, because more often than not she was happy.

She looked up at him and asked, "So Captain, where we going?"

"I hadn't quite decided, still open to suggestions if you have any."

* * *

She shook her head, no. "Food in general sounds good."

He chuckled then. She was rather refreshing. After years of women with no taste, no class, motives of the most dispicable sort... Her fearlessness of what he and the rest of the male population thought of her... It was incredibly fascinating.

"Anything in particular you're craving?" he asked, looking down at her glowing face. She really was glowing, might've just been the moon above or other random reasons, but she was. Very prettily glowing. It would seem that night suited her, mellowed her out. 'Thumbs up to that.'

She shrugged, "Food's food. It all tastes good."

* * *

He'd passed six or seven restaurants before walking into The Continental Songbird of Japan. Quite the title, but all the critics loved the food. And it was non-smoking! That was always an added plus. Nothing worse than cigarette smoke to interrupt a pleasant conversation with a gorgeous woman. Not that he was looking... Much.

If he were really going to be open what he was looking at, he'd say he couldn't stop looking at her. Stealing his eyes over her face and figure, his gaze lingering over the parts of her he'd most like to touch. He was almost willing to call himself a Miroku-in-training, though he'd much rather find a more flattering title.

He stood patiently with Kaye's arm in his, waiting to be seated. Preferably away from the rest of the people inside. When a table in the far corner had been cleared and readied, a waitress beckoned them to follow. And so they did. He pulled Kaye's chair out for her, never doubt the gentlemanly-ness of Sesshomaru Zetsumei! He might be a ruthless businessman, but he made it a point to treat most women with respect. Chivalry and gallantry could still get you brownie points. And brownie points with spontanious women was an incredibly good thing. Never know when they'll bail you out of a rough spot in the relationship.

* * *

She was just a little surprised when he pulled out her chair, but she smiled and blushed and seated herself - just a little excited. A guy as great looking as he did with a little bit of gentleman... Irresistable, really. And he wasn't just great looking, he was hot. Drop-dead-gorgeous. Sexy as Hell. What did it matter how you said it, so long as you knew it? And she was sure he knew it too, why else would he be smirking at her like that over the table... ?

"What's that look for?" she questioned, not quite sure she wanted the answer.

He chuckled. "You're blushing. It makes me wonder what you're thinking about the way you were looking at me."

And that did it... If she'd been blushing before, Heaven help her she was most assuredly blushing now. Of course, she'd never tell him she'd thinking about things that she really shouldn't have been thinking about. Or perhaps, she should have been. She'd nearly had him in her bed and... Well. She'd have enjoyed that had it not been for Kouga. But it was too late to dwell on assholes that ruined special moments. Besides, she'd much rather dwell on sexy, chivalrous men like her boss.

She sighed before she could stop herself, earning herself another look from the wonder-man himself.

"You do know it was rather important we go to the party, correct?" he asked, smirk still in place.

"Uh-huh, and what's so important about it?" Didn't seem all that important to her, but not much was. She was still a little hung up on his lips, the fact that she couldn't seem to stop looking at them wasn't even factoring in.

He shrugged his shoulders, leaning back in his seat. "Nothing really, but those attending may start to think something's going on when it's the owner of the building and the new designer who are missing. Especially when you were to be my date."

She gave a prolonged "Ahh" and thanked the waitress when she returned with menu's. She looked at him, then, confused when she caught the last word, choking on the very air she breathed.. "Wait, wait, wait... Date?"

"That's what I said, yes."

She glared at him. "And why the fuck was I not informed of this?"

He shrugged. "I thought you had been. My apologies if I was mistaken."

* * *

Before she could speak again to further her seemingly never-ending supply of anger, he asked, "What would you like to drink?" That worked, got her mind off being angry with him. And that just so happened to be a very good thing.

It took her a moment to decide, almost like an inner battle you could see on her face. He could just about imagine it.

'No, dammit! I want vodka!'

'Fuck that, I want whiskey!'

'No you don't, you want cherry coke!'

'Pardon me, but you're all wrong. We'd much prefer the refreshing taste of a nice, cold beer.'

Something along those lines, he imagined. Leave it to her to have multiple personalities, only one of which didn't happen to be an alcoholic. He was actually quite surprised when she asked for an iced-tea, and when the waitress came around, he ordered two.

"I don't know what to order," she whispered, flipping through the menu. "Double bacon cheeseburger with fries... Clubhouse steak with onion rings... Chicken-fried rice and deep-fried shrimp..." He might have been mistaken but he thought he heard her whimper.

"I believe it customary for the male to order on such occasions as these." He looked up at the waitress, not even sparing a moment to let his date get a word in. "Double bacon cheeseburger with fries, clubhouse steak with onion rings, chicken-fried rice and deep-fried shrimp..." He paused a moment to let the girl write everything down, continuing when she stopped. "An order of ginger beef and two eggrolls."

When the waitress walked away, he looked toward the woman in front of him. She was wide-eyed and seemingly confused out of her mind.

She whispered, "We're going to need a bigger table."

He laughed.

* * *

"Well, my mother lives in a shrine just outside the city with my grandfather and my younger brother, Souta. My father died in a car accident when I was fourteen, buried in the Nangara Memorial Cemetary." She took a moment before she went on, making certain she left nothing about her immediate family out. "Last I heard, Souta had a girlfriend. Bright pink hair, two lip rings and tattoos all up her arm. Quite the girl, I'm told."

He laughed at that, more than likely not certain how to react to hearing about the death of her father and perhaps a new addition to the family. Quite a lot to take in at once, she supposed. She took a deep-fried shrimp from one of the plates in front of her and dipped it in the accompanying sauce, taking small bites.

"So what about your family?" she asked, the waitress walking over with the last two plates in each hand, setting them down wherever there was free space.

"I am cursed with a half-brother, cursed even more-so now that he's married. Quite similar to you, my mother died when I was quite young, eleven if memory serves correctly." He brought the eggroll to his mouth and took a bite, chewing thorougly before swallowing. "I was married once."

She cocked her head, just a little curious. "And... ?"

"I have a daughter, Rin. She'll be eight in just over a month."

Smiling, she congratulated him on his little girl. "And the wife?"

The look on his face darkened, then, clearly showing an obvious dislike of the ex. "We were married three years when I caught her in bed with another man. More than once, actually. The same man on several occasions."

And the smile vanished. She nibbled her lip, "I'm sorry I brought it up."

He shrugged, "It doesn't matter. It was only a matter of time. Kagura was never one to be tied down, and high-school sweethearts rarely ever make it together."

Deciding it'd be a very good idea, she changed the subject. "So how old does that make you, then?"

"Twenty-eight, and yourself?"

"I think I'm twenty-four."

The small smile that graced his lips was a pleasure, and she was very glad to see it back.

* * *

End of Chapter Seventeen... I think.

I'm not sure if I like where it ended or not, but that's okay. I'm excited for the next chapter so it doesn't matter.

Sesshomaru's plan is coming into effect! Mwahahahaha... Anyways...


	19. A Little Insight

I'm going to try to get into the habit of updating at least once or twice a week, and I'm going to try not to blab so much before and after the chapter's written. I'm also going to try to write longer chapters for you guys. And there's another thing... But for the life of me I can't frickin' remember what it is! Urgh...

Ask to join the update list if you want to be put on it. So... If you'd like to be made aware of when I'll randomly update, please ask.

Oh, let us be off to Chapter Eighteen! (Is that how you spell it... ? That word really bugs me... )

* * *

Walking back to her apartment was a joy in itself, completely separate from dinner with her. Speaking of trivial things, issues of the world... He'd never felt more at ease with a woman. He'd confided in her his depest secrets, things he'd never felt comfortable telling his own wife! '... Ex wife,' he corrected.

This was a woman. Cheerful, blunt and honest and... Gorgeous. Even when her mood swung to the darker spectrum of human emotions, she was still quite the sight to behold.

"So what exactly do you do?" she asked, looking up into his eyes as she spoke. He admired that. Many people found it incredibly difficult to look into his eyes. Whether it was the near blackness or the expression on his face or... Whatever. Many could not look into his eyes for long.

"Not a lot, really," he answered, walking slowly down the street with her hand in his. "Sign papers, negotiations... The usual things a president of a company does."

She laughed, at him or at what he said, he didn't know. "Well I know all that. But I've never been the president of a company, so how should I know what exactly you do? I don't even really know what Full Circle is all about."

"Full Circle Industries was first developed by my grandfather, Yukio, although the title in the beginning was simply Full Circle. At first it was a mere antique gallery, ancient weaponry, scrolls... When my father, InuTaisho, inherited the galleries my grandfather had built across the country, he branched outwards into art and literature," he explained, quite interested to find someone who was also... Interested. "Now, Full Circle handles artists and authors, as well as a University dedicated to artists around the world. Every year, three students nominated from Universities across the globe are chosen to study and develop their artistic talents here. There are six or seven other branches of the company, but those are the areas in which my half-brother deals."

She was smiling up at him, looking like she rather enjoyed his explanation. "So then what do you do?"

He chuckled, his eyes gleaming. "I just told you, Kaye, my dear. You just weren't listening."

* * *

She wasn't ready to end the night there, when he'd walked her to the door to her apartment. But she had plans for the next day and she was sure a man as sexy as he was would have something to do... Especially one so famous as he. You don't get to be famous without girls dangling themselves in front of you. No sir, and she was just... Well she wasn't trying to be one of them. But he was hot and she wanted him and she was probably out of her mind for that. But what did it matter?

She cleared her throat, not really sure what to say. "Well... This is my stop." She was looking around, trying to find the inspiration from something to find something witty and original to say. What to say to a man like that? 'I had fun, lets do it again,' or, 'I'd invite you in but you might think I'm a bigger skank than you probably already do.'

He was smirking at her, that evil smirk that made him look like he knew something she didn't. It was quite annoying, especially when the look in his eyes told her something entirely different. "Indeed it is."

"So I should probably go inside," she whispered, waiting for the inevitable. She knew it was coming... 'Do it or stop looking at me like that... If you're going to devour my mouth in a goodnight kiss do it!'

"Indeed you should."

He wasn't moving, or maybe he was and he was moving so slow she couldn't tell. Or maybe time had slowed down and that's why he was only moving inches at a time. Or maybe the distance was shorter than she realized and she really was out of her mind. It seemed like a possibility, right?

Before she could find out, she turned towards the door, picking out the right key and slipping it into the slot. The unlocked door opened with ease, didn't make it that far though. Her body jolted when she felt a warm mouth on her neck, waves of desire flooding her senses.

* * *

He was walking her inside, his body pushing hers forward, and her body pushing the door open. His mouth refused to leave her neck, the natural scent of her left him intoxicated and aching for more of her. His arms wrapped around her waist as soon as he'd closed the door, pulling her body closer to his.

"Bedroom?" he asked, not sure if she'd understand what he wanted or not. He hadn't really intended to follow her inside, all he'd wanted was a kiss and then she'd turned around and he'd found her neck and her scent... She smelled as wonderful as she looked. He had to wonder if she tasted as good as she smelled.

She tried to move away from him, lead him to her bedroom, but he would have none of that. He held her closer, and leaned down, sweeping her legs out from under her. Her arms looped around his neck. "End of the hall."

* * *

She could feel his hands all over her, like they were itching to touch her skin, to feel the softness of her body. One hand kneading her breast through the fabric of her gown, the other moving down her body to massage her thighs. His mouth on a rampage, open-mouthed kisses against her throat and neck. She thought she'd heard him groan when his mouth reached the end of the line... Where the fabric covered her breasts, kept them in check. 'Most of the time.'

But truth be told, she was just as eager as he was and her hands were far from keeping still. She was yanking on the buttons of his shirt, desperate to remove the barriers of clothing between them. But when she'd reached the bottom hem of the long-sleeved shirt, she didn't stop, couldn't stop. She knew he wouldn't give in to her and allow her to remove his clothing, so her fingers made quick work of the button and zipper on his jeans. After she'd done all she could to assist the removal of his garments, her right hand slid up his body, softly and ever-so-slowly caressing the muscles of his chest.

As soon as her hand came into contact with skin, his mouth stopped, his hands didn't move... And her eyes lifted to his. He looked so hungry, so incredibly desperate for her, like he wanted to have her again and again and... Again. She was up for it. His breathing was erratic and irregular, coming in short gasps as her hand trailed up his chest to the back of his neck, pulling him down for a kiss. Oh, and what a kiss! Hard and hot and demanding.

She moaned against his mouth, both hands lifting to push his shirt over his shoulders. He moved, then, to a semi-sitting position and she followed, whimpering at the sudden loss of his mouth. He pulled his arms back and pulled the sleeves off, letting the shirt fall wherever it wished. She pushed him over onto his back, crawling up on top of him to straddle his waist.

His hands moved to the back of her neck, pulling her down to him and their lips came crashing together. She nipped at his lower lip, suckling it into her mouth. Tongue, teeth and lips so busy at play, eager to tease and torment. She was so busy being in her own little world with his mouth, that she nearly fell off him when she heard the ringing of a cellphone.

* * *

"Fuck," he groaned, already knowing it was his and who the caller would be. He lifted himself up into a sitting position and Kaye settled herself on his lap. "I have to answer it, Kaye. There's only two people who know the number to my cell. One of them is my daughter and the other is Kagura." He reached into his pocket and grabbed the ringing piece of technology. "And at 12:30 at night, who do you think the caller is?"

She nodded her head, a little miffed, but understanding all the same.

He opened the cellphone on the third ring, snapping at the bitch on the other end, "What do you want?"

"My, my, Sesshomaru, aren't you the feisty one tonight," his ex-wife coo-ed at him.

"What do you want, Kagura?" he asked again, demanding an answer. The woman on his lap had started touching him again, her hands pressed against his chest, fingers kneading the skin. Her tongue licking a slow trail up his neck, flicking over his earlobe.

"Always to the point you are," she purred, "never want to talk to your wife anymore."

When he felt Kaye nibble on his earlobe, his head turned slightly towards her and he growled into the cell, not really sure who it was directed at. "Ex, bitch. Now what the fuck do you want?"

"I need you to watch the girl." Always the girl, never calling her by her name or even referring to her as her own fucking daughter. "Naraku and I need a little alone time." He knew she was grinning on the other end, always loved calling him in the middle of the night to retrieve their daughter so she could have a midnight fuck with her lover.

"I'll be there in an hour, I'm a little busy."

He could hear her laughter and the deep voice of Naraku, urging her to hurry to bed. "Might want to come sooner, Sesshomaru. We're in a hurry tonight." The click of the phone was the last thing he heard, besides the heavy breathing of the woman on his lap.

He tossed the cellphone onto the bed and pushed Kaye onto her back. He bit her neck, only hard enough for her to enjoy it, and she did. Her back arched and her hips ground against his. He whispered into her ear, "I have to go," a little shocked when he heard her whimper her protest. He kissed her lips, fleeting little kisses to soothe and calm her. "I know, I know... But Kagura needs me to watch Rin tonight. I'll play with you later."

Kaye cocked her head to the side, still whimpering, pouting just a little. "Promise?"

He kissed her one last time before removing himself from her bed, picking up the clothing he'd shed and putting the shirt and jacket on again for the third time that night. "Promise." And with that final word spoken, he left her there on her bed and left her apartment. Not even realizing he'd forgotten his cellphone on her bed...

* * *

Did you know, that the sexy little lime right there was originally intended to be Kagome's dream? That's right. But then I thought, 'No. It'd be much more fun to have Kagura call and tell him she needed him to watch Rin because she was going out with Naraku. And of course, she has to rub it in... Because SHE THINKS HE'S ALONE! Fuckin' loser.' And I thought it'd be funny if they were just a tad sexually frustrated. :shrug: Everything is against them! Mwahahahahaha... . 


	20. Rin's Bedtime Story

I'm very proud of myself for writing the last chapter. I had originally planned to skip right to the quest Sesshomaru and Kagome will be doing together, but then I started writing the chapter and I didn't want to do that quite yet. And I'm quite happy I decided to make them just a tad sexually frustrated. :grins evily:

I loved the reviews I got for it, though... :laughs: I got called all kinds of awesome names! It was so frickin' awesome! I got called mean and evil incarnate and... :sighs: I feel so frickin' special:dances around hardcore merrily:

Oh... And Aisu-Hime, I am incredibly sorry for making you question the spelling of eighteen. I've always had trouble with that word 'cause it looks like it should be spelled some other way or something. I think I'm just messed though.

Also, I've had lots of people ask about when they're actually going to meet. It won't be for quite a while, I think. I want them to go through absolute Hell, on and offline. And even after that, they're going to go through Hell just trying to get together. So... You're forewarned.

Chapter Nineteen is up and running... AWAY! -.0'

* * *

After Sesshomaru had left her apartment, he'd stood outside her door to collect himself. He hadn't wanted to leave, rather, he'd wanted to stay and make good on his desires to pleasure her, and himself in the process. Twice in one night he could have had her... Twice! He was beginning to feel as if Fate were toying with him, keeping him from a very desirable woman.

But he left, knowing if he didn't arrive shortly at Kagura's new apartment, Rin would be subject to hearing all kinds of disgusting things. And that was not what he wanted for his daughter. She was far too innocent to be traumatized by the grunting and groaning of her mother and soon-to-be step-father. He shuddered at the thought.

He unlocked his car and drove to the apartment in record time. Of course, record time wouldn't really count because he hadn't been driving from his own apartment. That really didn't factor in, all he cared about was getting his daughter away from her mother. Driving there, he'd also decided to speak with Kagura about custody of their daughter. Perhaps not when he arrived... But sometime soon.

He didn't want Rin growing up in a loveless environment. 'Or rather,' he corrected himself, 'an environment with too much love.' He was incredibly worried about Rin's life there, with that disgusting man and his cheating bitch. He didn't want his daughter witnessing such vile acts of so-called love. And he knew Kagura didn't truly care about their daughter, she'd never wanted children.

But, he decided, if Kagura could not be persuaded to give him custody of Rin, he would threaten her. And if she could not be threatened, he would make good on those threats and have the police take Naraku in for smuggling drugs into the country and the murder of at least three people.

'Evidence is a tricksy thing,' he thought, incredibly pleased with himself.

* * *

He'd pulled up to the apartment and parked his car, stepping out into the night air. He walked to the other side of the car and made his way up the stairs, two at a time, opening the door when he'd reached the top. Sesshomaru stood inside, his finger pushing the button for suite 307.

"Hello?" his daughter's voice came over the intercom.

"Are you ready, Rin?" he asked, impatient to be out of the building.

"Uh-huh, I'll be downstairs in a minute daddy!"

True to her word, Rin was downstairs and unlocking the front door in less than sixty seconds. She'd probably been waiting by the door for him with her little red back-pack on and had run down the hall and down the stairs to see him. When the door was open, she launched herself on him and wrapped her tiny arms around his waist. He smiled, looking down at her, his fingers running through her silky black hair.

She looked up at him and smiled a great big gap-toothed Rin smile, proud of the tooth she'd lost. "See daddy? It finally fell out!"

* * *

He held his daughter's hand, walking up the stairs to the elevators of his apartment building. He allowed Rin to push the up button, and they waited patiently for the familiar 'ding' sound, where the doors opened for them. Stepping inside, he pushed the sixth floor button that would start the short ride up to his apartment.

"How was the party, daddy?" she asked, looking up at him, still smiling her sweet smile.

"I didn't go," he replied.

That caused her to frown and cock her head. "But you said it was important... How come you didn't go?"

He shrugged, smiling down at his curious little girl. "Kaye didn't want to go. A friend of hers showed up very angry with her, and she decided she'd like to do something else instead."

"How was something else?"

If it were any other, he might have been annoyed with the questions, but she was so adorable with her big brown eyes and the need to know expression on her face. "Something else was wonderful, honey."

* * *

Sesshomaru had allowed his daughter to remain awake a while longer at her insistance that she really wasn't tired, and he'd had no problem with allowing her to do so. But with that last quick check of the clock, he'd decided it was a little late for an eight-year-old to be awake. 2:09 in the morning was more than late enough.

"Come, Rin, off to bed now," he said as he used the remote to flick the television off.

She got up off the couch, just a little slowly. "Okay daddy." She walked to her room, and he followed. Her bedroom door opened, and she went inside, making her way straight to her bed and crawling under the covers. "Will you tell me a story, daddy? Mommy never does."

He frowned, then. 'How could anyone resist such a child?'

"Of course, honey. What kind of a story?" he asked as he sat down beside her on her bed.

She thought a moment before giving her answer. "One with faeries and butterflies and a handsome prince."

"Alright Rin," he said, brushing her smooth black hair back from her face. "Once upon a time, in a far away land, there lived a little faerie girl named Akiou... Every morning, Akiou and all the other faeries would dance on the flowers of their world to wake the sun and call it forth for its daily journey through the clouds.

"One day, not long after the sundance - as they called it - a messenger came to Akiou, terribly frightened and out of breath. He couldn't even stop to catch his breath, his message was so important. He said in between his deep gasping breaths, 'My lady... Orroki has gone missing!'

"This was indeed a very important message. See, Lady Orroki was the princess of all the pretty faeries, and if someone had taken her, the faeries might never be able to pull the sun from its slumber again!"

As tired as she was, Rin gasped. "But then everything would die! The flowers and the trees and all the aminals!"

He smiled at her speech, her worry, even if it was just a make-believe story. "I know, honey, that's why as soon as she heard this, Akiou went looking for the princess. She didn't know where the princess could be, but she searched high and low, in the forests and in the oceans and in the mountains." He paused for a moment, searching his daughter's room for inspiration for his story.

"It had been many days since Akiou started her search, and without the princess to help wake the sun, the flowers and trees began to wither away. The petals falling to the ground and the leaves becoming dry and dark. The creatures of their world were becoming frantic without the sunlight to guide them, and some of the animals began to hide in the dying forests. Akiou knew that if she didn't find the princess soon, the world they knew would wither and die as well, so she continued her search."

His little girl whimpered, a little distressed at the idea of the flowers wilting and the sun sleeping for eternity. "Did Akiou find her, daddy?"

He lifted a finger to his lips, and whispered, "Shh, honey. You'll find out soon." After she'd quieted a little, he continued with his story. "One day, Akiou, who was searching the forest one more time, saw a light in the distance, and followed it. She came across a beautiful castle, all lit up with torches. And where there were once roses climbing like vines up the castle walls, there were wilted and dying flowers.

"Akiou had never seen the palace before, but she was a very curious faerie, and since she'd never searched the castle before she decided she'd look for the princess there. She cast a simple glamour spell on herself to hide her wings and markings, and she went inside. She searched many rooms of the castle, when a hand on her shoulder startled her so much that the spell she'd cast disappeared."

"Who was it, daddy?" Rin asked excitedly.

"He was the lonely prince, Kiioru."

"Why was he lonely?"

"Because when he was a little boy, an evil witch cast a spell on him and stole his wings," he explained. "Without wings, he was never able to find his mother and father. He was very shocked to see Akiou in his castle, and he asked, 'Who are you? What are you doing here?' Akiou was just as surprised to see him, too. She was even more surprised that he didn't have wings.

"'I'm looking for princess Orroki,' she said. 'She's gone missing and without her we can't wake the sun!'

"Prince Kiioru looked very ashamed. He didn't know he'd taken the princess of the faeries, and he didn't know that he'd been the cause of the sun hiding. He just wanted someone to talk to. He didn't want to be alone anymore, but he knew the pretty faerie had come to take the princess away. 'Orroki is here...' he whispered, very sadly.

"Akiou was upset to see the man looking so sad, and she asked, 'What's wrong?'

"The prince began walking in the direction of the princess' chambers, where he'd placed her after he'd brought her to his castle. 'When you take the princess back... I will be lonely, once more. No other lives here, I am alone.' Since Akiou was so curious, she asked him why he was so lonely, and the prince told her about the evil witch who'd stolen his wings when he was a boy."

Rin was lying back on her bed, her hands folded on her chest, looking up at him as she listened to his story. "What did Akiou do, daddy?" He could tell she was having a hard time keeping her eyes open, and he knew she wanted to hear the rest of the story.

"When she heard his story, she felt very sorry for the lonely prince. 'Maybe princess Orroki can give you wings!' she said, knowing that the princess was a very kind faerie. The prince looked very excited, and he took Akiou's hand and brought her to the princess' room. Once there, Akiou bowed to the princess and asked about prince Kiioru's wings.

"The princess was very dismayed, and she said, 'I'm very sorry Akiou, Kiioru... But I cannot give you back your wings. Only the witch who stole them can give them back.'"

Sesshomaru stopped when his daughter yawned, deciding he'd stop the story there. "Alright, Rin, I think it's time for bed now. I'll finish the story another night, okay?"

She just nodded, her eyes closed, and she smiled when she felt her father's lips on her forehead. "G'night daddy."

* * *

Okay, so I had a little bit of a difficult time writing that chapter. I'd want to write, and then I'd go off, and then I'd... I donno. And I'm really sorry it's so short. I think it is, anyways. It was supposed to be longer, but I wanted to show Sesshomaru interracting with Rin more than anything in this one. So the quest will be in the next few chapters. (I haven't thought of one yet, or rather what they'll be doing, someone wanna help with that?)

By the way, any names I use besides those of the InuYasha cast, are made up. Original characters, if you will. Akiou is pronounced Ah-kee-you. Orroki is pronounced O-row-kee. Kiioru is pronounced Kee-oh-rue. I'd also like to say, that I really enjoyed writing that little story Sesshomaru made up. Maybe I'll turn it into a one-shot and switch around the characters a little. Hmm...

Side Note: I LOVE alternate scenes... D Ahh, the freedom and the randomness.


	21. You Deserved It

Ugh, finally! I have been so bored and so tired for the past two weeks, and I'm really sorry you guys had to suffer the wait. Well... You're not the only ones! I was really looking forward to writing 'n stuff and it was just like, BLAH! I just couldn't. Anywho, thanks everyone who applied for the Beta-ing, and I'm sorry I couldn't have everyone be my Beta. (That would be cool.)

But I've chosen Aisu-Hime for my beta... It was so hard to choose! I had three or four really awesome candidates (Woo! Big word!) and I had a really hard time with that. I'm sorry if anybody's offended that I didn't pick them, but... Too bad. You'll get over it.

... -.-'

Okay, true to my word, I am going to dedicate a chapter to everyone who's helped me with my writer's block. There's like, six or seven of you, and you know who you are, so when you review... CLAIM ONE. First come, first serve... Ehehehe... -.-' That's probably not a very good system. But I don't actually remember who reviewed first, because I got two right around the same time from different places... I think. It was between Amanda Christine and Sesshomaru&Kagome4Ever. So... I donno.

Enjoy anyways!

On to Chapter Twenty!

* * *

He'd kept Rin with him until nearly 5:15, which had been when Kagura had called. Pretending to be angry really was her thing, she knew how to do it exceptionally well. "Why haven't you bright Rin back! Blah blah blah..." It was the same useless conversation time and time again.

He was quite tired of it, but he'd only have to put up with her a while longer. Until he could make the necessary schedule changes made so he could spend more of his time working at home so he could be with Rin. Of course, he'd still need to make an appearance at the office every now and again, and when Rin started school again in the fall, he'd be able to go full-time again.

There was still the matter of how he'd be maintaining the galleries with Rin living with him. Sitters were never really the best option, you never knew if you could trust them or not. Who's to say they don't have a criminal record and like to get close to their victims before raping and murdering them? Pedophiles were not cool. Nope, not cool at all.

He pushed that thought from his mind, and dialed his brother's home number and held the cellphone to his ear. He was taking the scenic route home, needed time to yell at InuYasha before he went through with his most ingenious plot ever. The wooing of a deranged woman... Maybe it wasn't so ingenious.

On the third ring, an aggressive voice demanded, "The Hell ya want?"

He smirked. "What a way to answer the telephone, InuYasha. Hello to you, too, dear brother."

"Sesshomaru?" the voice asked, slightly confused.

"I know who I am, InuYasha." He almost laughed when he heard the growling on the other end.

"What the fuck do you want?" came the annoyed response.

"Rin is going to be living with me permanently. I need you to ready some things for me so I can begin working from home."

InuYasha chuckled the all-knowing chuckle, "Finally had enough of having to drive all the way to the cheating bitch's apartment and steal the girl away before she got an ear-full?"

And thus was it his turn to growl. His eyes narrowed, he was almost having a difficult time paying attention to the road with his temper working itself up. "Yes, actually. There's no need for an innocent child to hear such... Vile noises."

From a small chuckle, to all-out laughter in just a few seconds. "You do know that you and Kagura used to make tho-"

Click. 'Goodbye InuYasha. Have a good day, oh, and... Go fuck yourself.'

The ringing of his cellphone came about a minute later, and he'd intended on ignoring it. But there were things that needed to be arranged and he knew InuYasha wouldn't stop calling. Not now that he knew his private cell number. 'Oh caller ID, you bitch.'

* * *

She was waiting. She hated waiting, absolutely loathed and despised it. Kagome really wasn't one for patience. Especially when they only had a certain amount of time to do the quest. And with him being at least ten minutes late, that meant they only had roughly four hours to complete the quest and make it back to the village to inform the NPC Elder.

She leaned against a Yewlin tree, her eyes on the giant mountain in front of her. Mount Ekowari was one of the tallest in the game, and by far one of the more beautiful. Inside the Thunder Caves was an abundance of natural hot springs, and about halfway up the moutain in a little clearing most people didn't know about, was a gorgeous waterfall. She wasn't sure where it came from or anything, but she knew it flowed down the mountain to the small Kagitou River.

She'd only been there a few times, never really had the time to journey there. Really, she wished she could, but... She laughed then, long and hard until her chest was heaving and her sides hurt.

She really could make a trip to the river. So few quests for her to complete... Sure, she could do them all over again, but what would that accomplish? Nothing! She made a mental note to herself that as soon as she was finished her quest with Sanosuke, she'd make a journey over to the river and spend a day relaxing. 'Good idea.'

* * *

'Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. SHIT!'

He was late. Incredibly late!

Making the necessary arrangements had proven to be much more difficult than he'd anticipated, and he still wasn't finished. He'd need to have nearly his entire office moved to his apartment, which meant he might have to relocate to something a little more spacious. Which would actually be a very good idea, seeing as how he'd be living with a hyperactive eight year-old. She'd need her space while growing up to be the beautiful woman he knew she'd grow up to be.

He'd also need to hire a nanny, or a babysitter... Housekeeper... Caretaker. Whatever they wanted to be called, he'd need to find one. There was no way he'd be able to get out of the constant trips to the galleries that were scattered across the world, and without someone to watch Rin... She might have to accompany him. While it might work in some instances, it would not be a good idea to pull her out of school for days at a time if he had to.

But respectable caretakers were hard to come by, of that he was certain. Some didn't care whether the child was fed, clean or in bed by a decent hour. Some wouldn't indulge a child's need to be tucked in and read her favorite bed-time story. And he'd heard stories about caretakers that actually beat the children for... Who knew what reasons.

He'd have to be thorough in his search for a sitter for his precious Rin. Not just any woman would be allowed the privelege of watching over his little girl. He groaned at the thought of having to interview all the caretakers in the city. He could feel the headache growing already.

He hadn't been home six minutes and he was poppin' Advil like it was candy.

* * *

Logging in was no difficulty, and before he did anything, he made sure to message Kagome as to his reason for such tardiness. Something about being held up in traffic after having to go into the office... Lame excuse, but it wasn't that unbelievable. Most Sundays he could be found in the office, sifting through the new talent, making sure everything was in proper running condition.

However... The message he received from her was anything but what he'd hoped for. She was not the most forgiving of women. At least, that's how it appeared to be with all the cussing she'd done.

Kagome: Fucking asshole! I've been fucking waiting nearly a half hour! If we have any hope of finishing this fucking quest, you'd better get your ass over here right. FUCKING. NOW!

And that settled it. At least he wasn't too terribly far from Mount Ekowari. The village he'd logged out of was a five minute run, if he went at full speed, to the location they'd agreed on. He discarded the travelling clothes and adorned himself in the traditional armour of the Mirivan Guard. Very expensive... He hoped Kagome wouldn't notice.

* * *

She nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She flew about a foot in the air, whirling around as she did, losing her balance and falling to the ground. She was having such a difficult time breathing, that she flopped down onto her back and closed her eyes, resting just a moment while the bastard apologized.

Of course, that didn't happen. Said bastard was laughing. At her expense.

"Fuck off," she yelled when she'd caught her breath. "I'm pissed off enough as it is, don't have to make it any fucking worse! Bad enough I agreed to this fucking quest. Fuck, I wouldn't have if I'd known how much of an asshole you'd be!"

That sobered him up to about a chuckle. "Temper, temper. Makes one wonder where you aquired such anger."

She sat up, very slowly, her eyes opening just to narrow at him. "None of your fucking business."

"Of course not, fair lady." He held his hand out to her and she slapped it away, deeply regretting ever accepting his invitation.

"Don't touch me." She lifted herself onto her feet, her hands going to behind her to brush away any unwanted junk. "Let's just get this fucking thing over with so I can get the Hell on with my life."

He didn't say anything, just followed her when she started walking towards the Thunder Caves entrance. She took down one of the torches that lined the outside walls on the right side, and set it afire with a simple incantation. Just as she was handing it to over to Sanosuke, she took down another from the wall. She did the same for that torch, and carried it herself. She was very thankful to have chosen two professions. Made things so much simpler.

She was just heading inside the caves, when the nuissance's voice sounded from beside her. "So, what's your favorite color?"

"Black," she said without a moment's hesitation.

"You do know that black isn't a color, right?" he asked, and she could hear the cocky attitude in his voice.

"Yes, actually I do," she spat back at him. "Absense of color, my ass."

He laughed, and she stopped. When he turned to her with confusion written all over him, she reared back and punched him square in the face.

* * *

Looking back to what had transpired only moments before... He admitted that it had hurt. A lot. He was still holding onto his nose, almost sure she might have broken it. He was trying to soothe the pain, rub it away or some damn thing when she stopped again... He stopped also, his shoulder lifting and he cringed and backed slightly away from her.

She was glaring at him, he was frightened. "I'm not gonna hurt you, big baby. Didn't even hit you that hard."

She handed him her torch and lifted her hands to his face, whispered something that sounded a lot like, "MAKE IT HURT, MAKE IT HURT!" But in no time at all, less time than it had taken her to whale on him... The pain in his nose and the crookedness he was sure was there... Was gone.

"What in the fuck did you just do to me?" he demanded, his fingers coming up once again to rub his nose, his eyes fixed on the tip. His discomfort was causing her to laugh. At him. 'Aha ha ha. Bitch.'

"I'm a priestess, remember?"

Well that explained it. That might actually come in handy if there was going to be a lot of heavy violence with the quest. He kind of hoped so... Really anything to get her hands on him.

"So what was it you said?"

She grabbed her torch back and shrugged her shoulders, walking forward as she did. "Simple healing spell."

He rolled his eyes and followed her, not satisfied with the answer at all. "But what did you say?" At the questioning look she gave him, he said, "Maybe I can learn."

She shrugged again, looking around the caves for anything that might pertain to the quest. "Mahke ett herht."

He made sure she wasn't looking when he stuck his tongue out at her, grumbling more to himself than to her, "Still sounded like 'Make it hurt' to me."

* * *

I hate names. Just... Letting you know. Honest to God, any names in here that are used that aren't a part of the InuYasha casting... Totally random. I look around my room for random letters and I add them all together and... TADA! That's it. I suppose that's why I have such a hard time remembering them. -.-' 


	22. Questions And Kidnapping

Okay. Just... A little tidbit of information before I start the chapter. I have never seen Ruruoni Kenshin. (Did I even spell that right?) I've actually never even heard of it. I really didn't know there was a Sanosuke in it. I just wanted to use the 'suke' part. His name was originally going to be Sunosuke, but I thought that might be a little iffy to say if you're in a rush. Hrm.

Anywho... You'll have to pardon me if I don't dedicate this chapter to anyone specifically. I'm tired and I literally JUST woke up. I'm not a morning person, and I had a really shitty night. I don't think I got to sleep 'til 5 A.M and what time did stupid me wake up? 9:51. And since I had to wake my mom up, and she was quite relunctant to do so because she was up 'til about 3:30 herself... It took about a half hour to get her to wake up and by then I was completely awake.

When I revise the chapters later (Meaning: When I get over my laziness and revise the chapters later), I might rename them. :shrug: Donno.

So, anywho... Enjoy the latest installment of my fic, review/ rate... Whatever. Chapter Twenty-One...

* * *

They had been walking over an hour, and her feet hurt like Hell. Trying to take the quickest route to where the Rain Fountain was said to be situated proved to be useless. No one knew where exactly it was to begin with, because it was guarded by a barriar, along with Hiten and Manten, the Thunder brothers. What she knew of how the Rain Fountain worked was what she'd heard from the NPC Elder they'd received the quest from.

And his information was just as useless as the shortcut.

"It is all the guardians' doing! The only way to stop the Fountain is to remove the Thunder Staff from it's slot in the center of the spring. Without the guardians' energy, the vibrations in the Thunder Staff will not resonate and the Fountain will never be filled!"

So what did that tell them? Nothing. Said nothing about what they'd have to do, just that... No, it didn't actually say anything!

She was having a wonderful time trying to figure it all out. Between the mystery of the Fountain, walking, and her 'partner', she was having the time of her life! Actually, she really wasn't. Sanosuke hadn't shut up except for when she'd punched him in the face, and she'd felt guilty soon after and had healed the injury.

She was really wishing she hadn't.

* * *

His plan was not going according to... Plan. He'd ask questions, sometimes she'd answer them, sometimes a grunt was all the response he'd get. But did that put a damper on his spirits? Hell no. He just kept asking questions, figuring that eventually she'd become so aggravated that she'd answer any number of questions. It was a good idea, he just made sure to stay arms distance away from her just in case she decided she wanted to punch him again. And that was not a good idea. For being so short and... Female... She had a wicked arm.

He waited a moment, making sure he was far enough away from her, before asking his next question. "How long have you been playing?"

"Since it came out."

"Well... When was that?"

"Can't remember."

That was how it worked. Short sentenced replies with a tone of voice that made her sound like it was completely not worth her time. Well. She was an unforgiving uptight bitch when she was doing a quest. He'd have to take that into consideration the next time he asked her out... For another quest. He might think it was a date, but never ever, would she. Again with the uptight unforgiving junk.

And he was slowly running out of questions that he could actually ask in game. Sure, he could move on to the real world stuff, but it was highly doubtful she'd actually tell him anything. The look on her face told him so. Really. It was speaking to him telepathically.

"Where are you from?" he asked, and when she turned and looked at him with that nasty look in her eyes, he quickly added to the question. "In game, I mean." He was cringing again, slowing down so he was farther away from her.

"Lunar Cape Island," was all she said before continuing to check out her surroundings.

He looked thoughtful for a moment, before replying, "I've heard it's really pretty there this time of year."

Her shoulders shrugged. "It used to be."

"Isn't it anymore?" he asked, coming to a complete halt when she stopped quite suddenly.

'Don't hit me, don't hit me, don't hit me...'

* * *

She was beginning to get really annoyed. The questions were just... Non-stop! She was absolutely seething, steal coming from her ears, face getting red. If he didn't stop and give her a reprieve, she was going to punch him again. And she wasn't going to feel guilty and she wasn't going to heal him. He didn't deserve it in the least!

"No, it isn't. With all the new players, the island is completely industrialized. It's more a fucking paradise tourist attraction than anything!"

"So... Is that why you're here?" came the tentative reply from Mr. I'm-so-annoying-just-because-I-can-be.

"YES, DAMNIT!" she yelled, not mindful of his demonic hearing. But from the force of her voice, both torches extinguished in a flash, almost as if the flames had been sucked inside their own energies.

She didn't care. Really, she didn't. She was angry, and she had every right to be. If only he'd heeded all the warning signs and just shut the fuck up, she wouldn't be so pissed off. Of course, being late hadn't earned him any brownie points.

When she heard two voices laughing, getting closer and closer... She stopped being angry and crouched low to the ground, looking around trying to find the direction the voices was coming from.

"Shit."

* * *

Maybe she did care...

To say that he was not having the time of his life anymore would be a drastic understatement. Really.

First, she was angry. Very angry. So angry she'd forced the torches to go out. Of course, that meant next to nothing for him, he could somewhat see in the dark. Second, the laughter had started. Evil maniacal laughter that could almost rival his own. He did not like that one bit.

And that laughter was getting very close. He couldn't tell which direction, it sounded like it was coming from all around them, and maybe it was. There were two voices laughing, and after being thoroughly freaked out, the talking commenced. Not even talking, whispering... They wanted to be heard, but they wanted to sound terrifying. That was obvious. Laughter and whispering soon to follow, very obvious.

"Such a pretty little thing... Do you think she'd work Hiten?"

"She's the most beautiful one yet, brother. She'll work just fine!"

He could feel a crackling in the air, he could almost see it, sparking and igniting the very air around him. The booming sound of thunder was terribly painful to his ears, almost enough to make them bleed. He dropped the torch and pressed his hands against his ears, crushing them to attempt to drown out the sound. The laughter had started again, and he could feel the presence of two demons. He could smell them, but he couldn't see them.

A deafening scream pierced through the thunder, and before he could reach out and grab her, Kagome's presence was gone.

* * *

Dun dun dun:cough cough: 


	23. A Close Encounter With Thunder

Boo-frickin'-yah! Writer's block b'WARE! And a cliffy to boot. Damn I'm good.

:struts:

Anyways, I'm still tired and lazy, so if you want a chapter, claim it. First come, first serve.

Moving on to Chapter Twenty-Two!

* * *

Last time...

* * *

"Such a pretty little thing... Do you think she'd work Hiten?"

"She's the most beautiful one yet, brother. She'll work just fine!"

He could feel a crackling in the air, he could almost see it, sparking and igniting the very air around him. The booming sound of thunder was terribly painful to his ears, almost enough to make them bleed. He dropped the torch and pressed his hands against his ears, crushing them to attempt to drown out the sound. The laughter had started again, and he could feel the presence of two demons. He could smell them, but he couldn't see them.

A deafening scream pierced through the thunder, and before he could reach out and grab her, Kagome's presence was gone.

* * *

"Put me down, put me down, PUT ME DOWN!" she screamed, kicking and flailing and desperate to be let go. But regardless of how she struggled, her captors had no intentions of letting her go. That much was clear. She had the worst luck ever.

The one carrying her chuckled, "Now why would we do that?"

"Because either you're going to let me go... Or I'm going to kill you!"

Oh, and he found that terribly funny. Laughing up a storm... No pun intended. "Fiesty, too. You're sure to work for Manten!"

That ceased her struggling. Made her even kind of scared. "What are you talking about? Who's Manten?"

"Surely you've heard of him, of us." When he felt her shake her head, no, he went on. "We're the Thunder brothers, and you are going to be used in Manten's potion."

'Potion? Oh God... WHAT!' She was really freaking out and even though she knew it was futile, she started struggling again. She had to get away... Far, far away. At least get back to Sanosuke. It was the least he could do... Getting her into such a situation. 'He'd better be following.'

* * *

And he was. Between her screaming, her scent, and the sound of the thunder billowing to the right, following them was no problem at all. He wasn't running at full-speed, best to let them get to wherever they were going and let them think he'd abandoned her, than confront them and have them think he was... Protecting her or something.

But if he was correct, and of course he was, then these were the guardians of the Rain Fountain. Who else would reside in the Thunder Caves? Unless they had killed the guardians and had unsuccessfully taken over the sacred duties... That could also be a possibility. A less likely possibility, but a possibility nonetheless.

So in the event that these were the true guardians... What did they want in exchange for rain?

He was still hoping for a violent encounter, but he was doubting it. Probably a puzzle of some sort... Maybe not a puzzle. Something to do with women. Why else would they kidnap Kagome?

... At that thought, he decided he really didn't want to answer that question. 'Better to leave that question for later.'

* * *

The Thunder brothers carried her to a room she thought was most likely in the very heart of the moutain. Torches lined the walls on all sides, looked more like candles than anything. There were caves branching off in two directions, and as far as she could see they were nearly endless.

In the middle of the room, the Rain fountain stood in all it's pristine glory.

The Fountain turned out to be more beautiful than she'd expected. It appeared to be made of something akin to porcelaine, possessed a fragile beauty that astounded her. It was connected to the ground by something that looked like roots, but there were no trees so that would be out of the question. It rounded into a large circular din, the edges flaring out to look almost like waves of the ocean. In the center, there was a... Pedestal. Intricately designed, coiling 'round and 'round like a spiral staircase.

And there, in the pedestal, she thought that would be where the Thunder Staff was supposed to be. But it wasn't. One of her captors had it strapped to his back, the one called Hiten.

She came to the conclusion that they must have abandoned their duties for... The potion. She still had no idea what it was, or what it was used for. All she knew was that she was needed. Which meant she needed to get away. Fast.

* * *

He had slowed down when the screaming and the thunder had eased off. He was walking, creeping... Sneaking, along the walls of the cave. He could see a light not too far ahead of him, not only a light, he could see a room. More than a room... Whatever. He could hear them talking amongst themselves, all three of them. Not just the kidnappers, but the kidnappee also. 'Well, she's making the most of her situation.'

"So what exactly do you guys do all day?" he heard her ask, thought she sounded genuinely curious. Her scent was telling him otherwise. She was thoroughly afraid, attempting to prolong her life.

"Make it rain, sit around... Next to nothing," was the reply. The voice sounded bored, like he was waiting for something. That might not be a good thing.

Kagome's voice was confused when she asked, "But don't you get bored?" Either she was getting louder, or he was getting much closer. While he was still hidden by the dark, he could clearly see nearly the entirety of the room her voice was coming from. Couldn't see Kagome, or the one she was talking to, but he was getting close.

Creeping and sneaking, getting closer and closer... 'Just a little bit farther.'

"Well of course we get bored. That's why we need you."

"I'm going to be entertainment?"

He could see her sitting on the floor with her back against the wall, looking over at a demon he didn't recognize. Black hair, red eyes, maybe 5'11". His armour was... Sexy. Really. If he were a woman, he'd be drooling all over the place. It was shining, glossy, in the center of the breastplate was a crack of lightning. Beautiful trademark. It was traditional styled, adorning his body almost like a second skin.

When he felt a wetness on the side of his mouth, he lifted his hand to inspect it.

... He was drooling.

* * *

"No, you're not going to be entertainment. You're going to be used to bring the entertainment... To us." The smirk on Hiten's face was not cool. At all. She was scared enough just without the smirk, but with the look he had on his face... She was almost terrified. 'Sanosuke had better get here soon...'

"How am I going to do that?" she asked tentatively, her voice sounding far too meek for her liking.

The answer didn't come from Hiten, but from his brother, Manten, who was just emerging from one of the branching caves. "You're going to be used in the hair tonic to make me beautiful," the voice of the reptilian looking demon explained. He was coming towards her, cooing as he did. "Going to cook you alive and bathe myself in your hair and flesh. You're so pretty it's sure to work!"

Her eyes widened as far as they would go. 'This is so not good.' She was very freaked out. Incredibly so. Oh God, all she wanted was to escape them alive... Fuck the quest!

* * *

That was not good. Not good at all. It wouldn't work, they'd just end up with a very dead Kagome. But he'd heard of a demon stealing away beautiful young girls and never returning them... 'Could this be what they're being used for?' he thought to himself, just as desperate to get her out as she appeared to be.

"Couldn't you just... Cut my hair off and glue it on?" he heard her ask. The air was drenched in the scent of her fear and he really didn't like it.

The brothers were laughing, evil and maniacal and menacing. It was only making her more afraid. His eyes were beginning to bleed... "Of course we can't, silly wench! It'll just fall off!"

"So will all of your limbs if you don't let her go," he shouted as he walked into the room, clearly visible for all to see.

Manten was panicked, but Hiten stood his ground like a true warrior. "Ahh, the consort. And just why should we let her go? Who are you to demand such things of us? In our own domain no less?" The thunder was returning with each syllable and the air was crackling again, raising the fine hairs on the back of his neck.

"I am Ses-" He broke off there a moment, quickly correcting himself. "I am Sanosuke, Guard of Miriva. And she is mine."

* * *

AN: I was thinking about just leaving it there... Another cliffy. But I won't.

* * *

Her eyes narrowed on him, she didn't belong to anyone, but she made no move to correct him. He was close to losing control, and as sexy as that was, she really didn't need to be ripped to shreds by an over-aggressive dog demon. No way, no thank you. She could sense his anger, she could feel it all around her. And she knew it wasn't just Hiten's thunder, nope, not even close.

His eyes were almost completely blood red, his hands clenched tightly and she could see small droplets of acid falling to the cave floor. 'Not good at all.'

She needed to find a way out of the situation. Fast. Very fast. Something to do with hair, something to trade... Some kind of spell. Make them a deal, a real spell, real potion that would work and make Manten beautiful. She shuddered slightly, not wanting to think of the reptile that was slowly backing away from Hiten and Sanosuke. A trade... The potion for rain. It could work...

"She isn't yours anymore, filthy dog," the angry voice of Hiten said, reaching around for his Thunder Staff.

Sanosuke was snarling, growling, he shouted, "She will never be yours, vermin!"

She stood up slowly, backing herself further into the corner so she wouldn't be noticed. She just really hoped Kaede would be online to receive her message. She opened the screen, the voices of the angry demons heard even through the haze of the messaging page.

Kagome: Kaede! You online!

The reply was almost instant, and she silently praised any and all Gods that had allowed her such a blessing.

* * *

He was baring his teeth, just like a real, very pissed off dog. The acid in his claws was itching to be used, to flow through the veins of his arrogant opponent. He crouched, keeping his eyes on the brother with the staff, poising himself to attack. He snarled, when the staff came into contact with Hiten's hand, the gem sitting in the center at the top coming to life from the energies of its wielder. 

He lunged forward, not even bothering to take out his sword, one hand rushing forward and the other waiting behind him to attack. Hiten jumped back and out of the way, kicking his heels and raising his arms as he was lifted into the air. His eyes narrowed, he stood at his full height, pulling his right wrist back, he flicked it forward and his acid whip snapped against the shinguards of the enemy's armour.

He could hear the sizzle of the acid melting the armour, it was music to his ears. He snapped the whip in wide arcs towards Hiten, pleased when he came straight at him with his staff raised to attack. The sound of his sword whistling free of the scabbard and through the air to meet the Thunder Staff was all he could hear through his heartbeat.

He could feel the sizzling energies of the staff, and he snarled and threw his full weight into his sword, pushing Hiten back to where he'd been before.

"Stop!" Kagome was shouting, but he couldn't hear her through the beating of his own heart and the blood that was rushing through his veins, couldn't recognize her through the fog.

* * *

"DAMNIT! I said STOP!" Kagome rushed forward to stand slightly out of the way, but in the middle of them, shouting as she pulled her katana from the scabbard, "AKHIEER TOU NEHKAI!" She shouted this twice before plunging the katana into the ground, the pulsing energy billowing from inside her, releasing in great bouts of raw power. The force of it through her sword threw Sanosuke and Hiten against opposite walls.

When she pulled her katana free of the ground, both demons dropped to their knees. They were both snarling, looking at each other like they were going to fight in a duel to the death. If they really wanted to, they could do it later.

"When I tell you to stop, you stop!" she shouted, her voice carrying all throughout the caves.

Sanosuke was the first to his feet, his eyes glowing, but the blood had drained away. "Why have you interrupted us?"

"Because I'd rather neither of you were dead, dumbass! And I have a fucking solution!"

Hiten had made his way up, but he was crouching, looked like he was in a lot of pain. "Solution to what?"

"A solution to both of our problems," she said, sighing as she did. "Sanosuke," she ignored the growling she could hear from him when she said his name, "and my self are on a quest to make it rain in Miriva. And Manten wants to be beautiful, right?"

They both nodded their heads, following her so far.

"Manten's so-called potion will never work. It's sickening to even think it could. But a woman I know has such a potion written in one of her books. She, just as I am, is a priestess. Lady Kaede is, as we speak, sending a message with all the items we'll need to prepare it. In exchange for this potion, you will make it rain."

"And if I refuse?" Hiten asked, his gaze trained on Sanosuke, who looked like he'd love to rip out his throat.

She glared at him, her hand tightening on her katana. "I'M NOT GIVING YOU A CHOICE!"

* * *

Hiten's eyes are red... Right? I really can't remember. Whatever. If they aren't, they are now!

Oh. My. God. I am soooo hyper! I'm just like, "Duuude, two chapters in like... THREE HOURS! BOO-YAH!"


	24. Rewards Of Rain

So, Kagome was quite pissed off in the last chapter. But that's okay. She'll live. Oh! And Sesshomaru was drooling over Hiten's armour... Not Hiten. Although a little male-male action...

Anywho, I got a review saying something about the brothers not agreeing with the plan or doing something evil after. They don't have a choice about agreeing or not. Kagome's bad side is a place you don't want to be... In this fic anyway. And also, in this fic, Hiten and Manten are not "evil." They were appointed their positions, the two of them are given some medium of control over rules and things happening in the game. Why would they make it rain if they were evil? Makes no sense. So what are they, then? Chaotic neutral. PSHA!

And I'm sorry for not finishing this chapter earlier. I had about half of it done quite a while ago I just... I didn't finish it 'til today. School started Wednesday, and that isn't an excuse because I haven't had ANY homework yet. You'd think I would, I mean, I have Applied, Math 30 and Physics 20 this semester.

Chapter Twenty-Three! Woooo!

* * *

Hiten was cowering slightly, and Sanosuke was cringing, his hands lifted to his sensitive ears. It was very apparent who the butch was in the situation. She'd taken them both out and they'd been powerless to stop her. It was rather exhilarating, the feel of blood rushing through veins and the electricity in the air that came with such power. And power she had. 'Woo!'

"Now," she started, "this is how it's going to work. I'm going to stay here as collateral, and as soon as I'm given the list of items, Sanosuke is going to go get them. After the potion is finished, you're going to put the Thunder Staff back where it belongs and you're going to make it rain. Understand?"

She took their silence for a yes and she smiled and clapped her hands. "Okay! Glad we understand each other."

When she heard Hiten mumble, "More like understand you, psycho bitch," she was tempted to smack him around. From what she'd seen when she'd managed to pay attention, he was quite the warrior. Might even prove to be a challenge.

She burst into hysterical laughter.

* * *

They were down to an hour and a half to complete the quest by the time the old woman had sent the list of items to Kagome. He was quite relieved that most of the items on the list either himself or Kagome already had. That made things much easier. There were only four items they didn't possess, and if he messaged Jaken, he'd have two of them in no time.

The other two, Kakuyas sap and a feather from the Ikso bird... Those might prove to be a little difficult if he didn't run top speed. Kakuyas trees grew in only one area of Miriva, and luck just happened to be a bitch. It was a ten minute run from their current location to the Elder Kikuta's forest. And the Ikso bird had only three known nesting areas. One deep in Lake Sasara, one on a rock over-looking the Mirivan Sea, and the other... Was very far away.

Obtaining those items wouldn't prove to be too difficult. If he collected the sap first, the run to the sea would really take only five minutes. But that only left them with an hour and fifteen minutes to combine all ingredients and prove the potion worked and make sure Hiten made it rain and get back to the NPC Elder before time ran out.

He messaged Jaken, ordering him to take Ah-Un and bring the Oji sugars and Deix crystals to the entrance to the Thunder Caves. He also made sure to instruct him to be as stealthy as he could possibly be. Adding the threat that if he was seen, there would be no man or woman in the Dimension who could cure him of his pain.

With that done, he sped through the Yewlin trees and rushed to his first destination, desperately hoping they'd have enough time to complete the quest.

* * *

"So what's a pretty girl like you doing with a fluffball like that?" Hiten asked, and she rolled her eyes, too accustomed to being hit on by the male characters of Dimension to care. He was leaning against the cave walls, smirking at her, giving her what he thought was a subtle look-over. It wasn't subtle.

"He invited me along for a quest. I had nothing better to do," she replied. She was emptying her pack, making sure she had all the items she thought she did. 'Tenkai oil, Karapace ink, Skeilix blood... ' She almost panicked when she couldn't find the Liegheth tail, but after nearly freaking out, she found it buried under her traveling clothes. 'Thank God.'

"Are you sure you that's it? He did say you belonged to him..."

She looked up at him, then, her eyes narrowing on him. "I. Belong. To. NO ONE!"

"Well," came the excessively gorgeous voice of Hiten after a lengthy reprieve, "since you know my name, might I ask the name of such a pretty lady?"

"Kagome," was her short response. She was beginning to get impatient, they were running out of time and as sexy as he was, Hiten's attentions were not welcome for the time being. Maybe after, when she had time to waste, she'd come back and hang with him. A new sparring partner would be nice.

* * *

The Kakuyas sap had been a problem. He'd had to leave a small flask at the base of one of the trees because the sap was too hot this time of year and was refusing to go any faster. The Ikso feather would be a piece of cake, but just in case this one proved to be different, he prayed it wouldn't be at the nest. Ikso were generally very intelligent birds and it was rumoured that two of the three could actually converse with players. That would be a good thing if it were true and it wouldn't really affect him if it wasn't.

Running the distance had been no trouble at all, and he enjoyed the thrill of the wind rushing through his hair and the speed of his demonic character. The scenery in Miriva was always beautiful and the sight that greeted him when he reached his destination was far more than beautiful.

The sun was setting, always quickly this time of day... Night, depending on how you saw it. Not a cloud in the sky, hardly any birdlife there either. The sea wasn't the normal blue-green of the Mirivan sea, but a golden hue that took his breath away. Waves crashing against the shore, beating down upon the rocks, already weathered by the constant pressure of water. High above, the cliff overlooking the sea... If he possessed any artistic talent, he'd love to paint it all.

But being the president of Full Circle, a company dedicated mostly to art and the artists, meant he didn't actually have to be a Picasso or a Divinci. He didn't really have to be anything but the president. Just as long as he was able to run the company and see to it that all the pieces submitted were on display in the galleries around the world, he'd be fine.

When he heard the beating of wings and felt the air rushing down around him, he turned to the sky and peered up into the violet eyes of the Ikso. He'd only seen pictures and they were no where near accurate. The Ikso was a giant with a wingspan of at least ten feet. It was almost completely white except for the golden tips of its' feathers. 'Absolutely magnificent.'

A screenshot wasn't possible, as he'd forgotten to include the pouch that carried the ShotCore, but he'd commit the image to memory.

The Ikso had sort of glided to the ground, standing at its full height of at least fifteen feet. Glaring down at him as if trying to assess some hidden weakness or... Something. It was almost a little intimidating. But if he could handle the deranged wonder that was Kagome, he could more than certainly handle the majestic Ikso.

:Why have you come: he heard inside his head and looked around to see if any other was present. No one... Just the Ikso. Perhaps the rumours were true...

"I've come to ask for a feather," he replied, not certain if he should think his answer or speak it aloud.

:Why: it asked, the violet of its' eyes swirling and colliding, almost hypnotic in their gaze. He could feel a presence in his mind somewhere. He couldn't pinpoint the location, but he knew there was something there.

"I, along with another, am partaking in the rain quest. She and I have come to an agreement with the Thunder Brothers," he explained.

:What kind of agreement: the Ikso asked. It was a rather fascinating creature, curious to the point of annoyance.

"She is to make a hair potion for the brother, Manten. In exchange for this, Hiten has agreed to place the Staff in its rightful position and give the people of Miriva rain."

:I see. And a feather of mine is needed for this potion.: He could tell the bird was wary, didn't know whether or not to believe him. But being also the Lord of the Western Provinces, his honor and pride would not allow him to be dishonest or dishonorable. No way, no how.

"Yes," he said.

There was a lengthy pause before the Ikso voiced another question. :Who is this woman:

When he replied with a simple, "Kagome Higurashi," the bird became ecstatic. It was flapping its' wings and giving a series of gorgeous trills and cries of excitement, almost going to the point of hyperventalation.

:I have wanted to meet her for some time...: The bird was having a difficult time keeping its' excitement in check, he could feel it washing over him like the waves washing over the shores. :She vanquished Musashu and his demon horde to save my mate. The story has been a nightly story for our chicks.:

He was still looking up at the bird when he asked, "Once the quest has been completed, shall I bring her to meet you?"

:Oh could you! I really want her autograph...:

* * *

She was pacing again. They were running out of time. Forty-five minutes... That was it. And then the quest would be over and it would all be for nothing! She had never not finished a quest. NEVER! And she really didn't intend to start now.

"Calm down, Kagome. He'll be back soon," Hiten said, feeling her anger spiking and twitching all around, he really didn't want to be purified by a stray bout of energy.

"And if he isn't!" she shouted, just a little loud for Hiten's sensitive hearing.

* * *

"And you're certain you weren't seen?" he asked the little toad after taking the bag with the items he'd requested. You could never be certain if Jaken was reliable or not, especially seeing as he could never keep his trap shut.

"Of course, Lord Sesshomaru," was the idiot's reply.

"Jaken! Watch your tongue," he hissed, looking around, listening for any unwanted presences. "This character is Sanosuke, not the Lord of the Western Provinces. You'd do well to remember that," he said as he narrowed his eyes on him. He was lucky this time, no one was listening in on private conversations.

'Pity, always a pleasure teaching toads to fly.'

* * *

"Fuck, what took you so fuckin' long!" she yelled at him when he came running into the cave. She was incredibly angry, and she had every right to be. She'd been in the company of a horny demon for almost an hour and she was not happy.

"The Kakuyas sap was very slow in its course, and the Ikso bird wanted a chat," was his reply.

She thought about that a moment... "Which Ikso did you visit?"

"The one residing atop the cliff."

"Owakisou's mate. Never met him, but I've heard he's a real character." Really. From his mate she'd heard that most of the time he tended to be either a little hyper or a little dramatic. Quite the combination of traits in a character.

"I'm supposed to take you to see him."

"After the quest is finished?" Her only answer was the nodding of his head.

* * *

The potion proved to be easy enough to put together. Mix this ingredient with that ingredient, bathe the Liegheth tail in the Skeilix blood. Simple little instructions that were a cinch to follow. The only thing that had proven to be even the slightest of challenges, was the Kakuyas sap. It needed to be in crystal form, and the only way to make that happen, would be to freeze it. Simple spell, simple crystals. And that was that.

She just didn't know how long it'd take the potion to go into effect. Or if there were any side effects. Side effects were not cool.

Manten was nervous, very very nervous. You could see the sweat beading on his massive forehead and the fear in his eyes. After the potion had been complete, she administered it to his head and small quantities. Just to be safe...

It was almost instant. It went from being stubble to a few centimeters in length in just a few minutes. Very impressive. Little did everyone see that as slow as the growth was... It wasn't stopping. And it looked like it had no intentions of stopping. Ever.

She turned to Hiten, eager to be out of the caves before they were swamped with hair. It might take a while, but sooner or later... "Okay, now that he's got hair, put the Staff back and make it fuckin' rain," she demanded.

Hiten was a very good boy. A very scared boy that really didn't want to be fried. 'Very smart.' He placed the Thunder Staff back in the slot, stood with his hand on the crest of the fountain and chanted slowly, "Reikeerha da to ohweikaiha... Kuuhwai to chishooha... Nandettho mammohwa anaita tou skha..."

Manten's hair was about six inches in length... And growing.

"If it isn't raining outside soon, I'll come back and make damn sure that any hair that's grown will never grow back. Understand?" she said a little forcefully, eager to leave before all Hell broke loose.

Hiten's nod was all the answer she needed, and she started for the exit, Sanosuke following suit. She was walking briskly until out of sight of the brothers, breaking into an all out run when she was out of range. The sooner they were out, the better.

"We have to hurry," she said in between deep breaths.

A confused look and a mouthed, "Why?" were what followed.

"Because the hair isn't going to stop growing," she whispered, and the wide eyes of Sanosuke almost made her laugh.

When he stopped, so did she. "What are you doing?" she demanded, impatient with him to the point of just ridding herself of him then and there.

"Get on my back. It's faster this way," he said. 'Good idea.'

* * *

He was running full speed with her and she felt so good there, holding tight to him with her legs wrapped around him. Although he'd much rather she was in front of him with her legs wrapped around... He could tell she was enjoying herself, even if she was panicking about the brothers and their dilemma over Manten's hair. Even if she chose to deny it, her scent hid nothing. He could tell she was more than a little aroused and the thick sweetness of it was clouding his senses.

The rain had started. At first, no more than a few droplets but soon enough it was a shower of water pressing down on the skin. Thunder could be heard and lightning was cracking throughout the sky. If he wasn't in such a hurry, he might stop to admire the picture painted out before him. But stopping would mean further angering Kagome, and that wouldn't be good. Especially since she was so...

'Fuck I'm a pervert.'

* * *

The run to the Elder's village had taken hardly any time at all, to which he was very thankful. Anymore of Kagome's intoxicating scent and he'd have lost control and had his evil way with her on the way. Which would've been a good idea if he wanted to really screw up his plan. But he didn't want to do that, so that would be a very bad idea.

After relaying the story to the Elder, Kagome was given a spell sword (Only very high levels and very experienced players were allowed to use them and you had to dual-class between priestess and warrior.) and he was given a Pirakawa blade. Very lightweight material, easy to handle and control. It was like a subtle hooked katana, only the subtleness of it was very subtle and the hook was almost non-existent. Still, he was surprised he'd been given something of such value, especially with him being a new character.

But he most definately was not complaining. Nope, not him. The Pirakawa blade had a plus eight attack bonus, plus three dexterity and plus two vitality with an elemental bonus of wind. No complaining. No fucking way.

* * *

"So, ready to go then?" he asked, still eager to spend as much time with her as possible.

"Go? Where?" She was very confused, and the look on her face was priceless. It was like, 'What are you talking about I have to spend more time with you!' Priceless.

"To introduce you to Kagihiko, remember? The Ikso whose mate you saved... Ringin' any bells here?" He was talking to her like she was four and it was fun. She was too exhausted to care and that made it all the better.

She rolled her eyes. "We'll do it tomorrow. Eight o'clock my time okay with you?"

He nodded his head. "That's fine with me."

"Good." She vanished.

* * *

Oh. My. God. I played D&D for the first time the other night and I fuckin' rule! I am the sexiest scythe wielder EVAR! I'm not going to write it all down here, so if you wanna know, ask. Or something.

Ask to join the update list... Dooooo it.


	25. Oh How I Loathe You

Okay, this chapter is a lot longer than it was before. Why? Because the shortness of it really annoyed me. It mostly consisted of my ranting and I'm not very happy with that. So... What did I do? I decided I would incorporate D&D into my story. Why? Because D&D fucking rules and lots of people don't really know what goes on with it... So... I've come up with something for something and I'm just... Yeah. Whatever.

Chapter 24: Oh How I Loathe You

* * *

It was pretty, well-designed... But it wasn't perfect. Not even close. The design was still too soft, too feminine and perky. As perky as navy blues and silvers could go, at least. The lines were smooth and calm, just like everything else in the design. The plant choice was a leafy fern, which only furthered the femininity of the design.

Most definitely needed to be changed. It wouldn't do to have her boss unsatisfied with her work. It would jeopardize her reputation as one of the top designers in the city, country even. And it could jeopardize the reputation of Full Circle. Not good at all.

She still hadn't even started working on the logo for the company, hadn't even come across any decent inspiration. She'd originally thought about something like from The Ring. A dark center circle with the bright outer edges. But that'd be cheap; second rate design for a first class business. So that was a no-go.

Kagome flipped through the recent designs; most just short of what she wanted but lacking the final piece of... Well she didn't know what it was, but they were missing it. That secret part of him that he refused to share with anyone.

But how could she really know what that was if he was always hiding it?

* * *

"Rin will live with me, Kagura. You relinquished your hold over her when you brought that... Thing into the equasion." He was practically snarling into the telephone, disgusted more and more by his ex than ever before. "I won't have him destroying my little girl."

"It was always Rin with you, Sesshomaru." She said their daughter's name like her very existence was a curse on the world around her. And to her, it probably was. "Playing with the brat and never spending any time with your wife."

He almost laughed there. "And I wonder why."

"What the Hell is that supposed to mean?" she spat at him, her temper just as worked up as his.

"Oh, I think you know," he said. "You were always out of the country on... Business."

"Yes, 'business.' Can you blame me when you were all I had to come home to!" She was screaming at him and he had to hold the phone away from his ear until she finished.

"You had Rin, bitch! She was just as much yours as she is mine!"

He could feel her glaring at him even through the phone. "She was never mine."

"Then you'll have no trouble packing her things and informing her she's moving in with me," he told her as calmly as he could manage.

"I think not, Sesshomaru."

"Guess what. You don't have a choice, Kagura."

* * *

After the drama with his ex-wife, things in the office took a turn for the worst. His secretary was called and informed of serious problems and setbacks in one of the galleries across the country, he'd have to send Jaken to make sure the problems were dealt with accordingly. And the office was in chaos. InuYasha's wife had chosen to make her appearance to take him out for lunch... And he hadn't been around. She thought the worst and was continuing to make a scene.

It was not pleasant.

He'd have to leave early to pick Rin up from school and drive her home so she could pick up her things. He wanted her living with him as soon as possible, which meant he really needed to find a sitter of some sort. But that could be taken of in a matter of hours.

Kaye had not shown up yet again. He hadn't any right to expect her to as she was more than capable of working from home... But he missed her annoying presence. It was difficult without her around even if she was a nuissance. But he had her home phone number if he really needed to hear her voice.

And that would be a really good idea if he weren't so busy.

* * *

It still wasn't good enough! None of them were good enough! They would never be fucking good enough!

She took one deep breath, exhaled, and then took another. Kagome was a very stressed woman. The designs for the building were in no hurry to be completed; she had a little over a month to finish them. But the company logo - which had been non-existent before her - needed to be finished by Thursday. That gave her three days.

She was having a difficult time finding inspiration, and at the pace she was taking with the designs, she'd be lucky if she ever finished them.

* * *

She was being interrupted. Again. By the same person. Again. The phone wouldn't stop ringing... Just kind of kept going. A ring here, a ring there, just a few seconds apart and driving her up the wall. She'd answered it the first time, but when the noise on the other end had become too much, she'd hung up.

She was fairly positive that if she picked up the phone again, the same thing would happen.

She was actually tempted to pick it up and say, "Goodbye." Imediately proceeded by a hanging up of her telephone. Again. But despite probably all of her better judgement... Kagome picked up the phone, giving a tentative, "Hello?"

"... Kaye?"

Her eyes widened as she recognized the voice. Mr. Zetsumei. 'Okay, maybe I'm not being interrupted by the same person... ' She was nodding her head, and she almost slapped her forehead when she realized he couldn't see her. "Yeah, it's Kaye."

"Oh. I was... Why aren't you here?" came the pretending-to-be-annoyed voice of her boss.

"Am I supposed to be... There?" she asked, quite sure that his version of 'here' was the office. Where she really didn't have to be as it stated quite nicely in the contract he'd drawn up. Unless she wanted to, she didn't have to make an appearance. Very nifty.

There was a little pause before he answered, "Well... No... It's just that... The office feels empty without the annoyance that is your presence."

She hung up.

* * *

He laughed when he heard the click of the phone; her antics really were too amusing. He really could just call her back... But he'd had his fill. No need to upset her further and have her ruin the designs of his building and logo... That could be catastrophic. As many times as she'd reassured him she hated pink... For all he knew she could simply be pink closet-addict.

The logo could be a neon pink full moon and the building could be just... Awful. Pink walls, painted pink plants and windows tinted to match.

He shuddered and decided it'd be a good idea if he didn't call back.

* * *

When the phone rang for the third time in approximately thirty minutes, she was a little worried. Instead of picking up the phone in her bedroom, the one that oh-so-conveniently was lacking in caller ID, she raced to the kitchen to pick up the cordless.

She waited for the next ring before pressing 'Talk' and holding the phone to her ear. "Heya Sango."

"Did Miroku call you?"

'What, no time to say hello?' she thought, trying not to burst into laughter. "Yes he did. Why?"

She heard the sigh and waited for the rant. "He was supposed to call you and ask if you wanted to play D&D on Friday... Did he even ask?"

"There was so much noise on the other end I just hung up," she explained. "He didn't get that far."

"Oh... Do you want to?"

"Who's DMing?" If it was Miroku... She refused. Perverts equal not cool. Sango wasn't bad, and since you couldn't really count on InuYasha to be around anymore, there weren't too many participants. Some newbies, but they were a little inexperienced.

Sango sounded very excited when she said, "Shippo."

"Yes!" Shippo was the greatest DM she'd ever experienced. Quite literally. The last quest they'd done had involved the bloodiest massacre she'd ever participated in. If she'd drawn a picture, her character would have been covered in blood, dripping all over the ground. It was absolutely fantastic!

"Okay, Friday at nine. Make sure you remember."

"Of course. Do you know what we're doing?" Couldn't blame a girl for being curious.

"It's a secret," the voice of Shippo himself whispered in his spookiest voice before cackling maliciously.

* * *

There. It's longer. Much better. Gawd. 


End file.
